Orbiting Satellites - Book One
by Just4fun37
Summary: Jake & Nessie's lives revolve around each other like two Orbiting Satellites, one always chasing the other. Follow Jake & Nessie's changing relationship, & ups & downs, after BD till Nessie matures & beyond. Book 1: The Cullens need to leave Forks. How will the move affect Jacob, his Pack, & Billy? JPOV & RPOV. All Canon. Sunrise revised with a more testosterone-fueled Alpha Jacob
1. The Discussion

When Alpha Wolf Jacob Black Imprints on Half-Vampire Renesmee Cullen their lives are forever changed. Is it for the better? Either way (good or bad) they're now caught, endlessly revolving around each other, like two orbiting satellites, one always chasing the other.

Jacob thought things were finally going to be perfect, so why were their lives together a struggle? Follow Jake and Nessie's changing relationship, their ups & downs, beginning shortly after Breaking Dawn, till she matures, and beyond.

All written in Renesmee and Jacob's Point of View. All Canon.

I've broken _Sunrise_ up into 6 smaller books, while also adding a few missing scenes to most chapters and completely expanding others. This is Book One of my revised version of _Sunrise_, with a more testosterone-filled, Alpha Wolf version of Jacob.

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**Orbiting Satellites – Book One**

Year One - The Micro Moon - The first year of Renesmee's life (story picks up post Breaking Dawn) - detailing her life as her physical appearance changes from appearing similar to a toddler and ends the year resembling that of a six year old human girl.

Chapter 1 - The Discussion

Chapter 2 - Nightmares and Meetings

Chapter 3 - Dinner Plans and Chaperones

Chapter 4 - Rose and Valentines

Chapter 5 - Barbie's and Cars

Chapter 6 - Agreement and Charlie

Chapter 7 - Quileute & Bonfires

Chapter 8 - School and a Wedding

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Year Two - The Full Moon - Renesmee's physical development grows from a six year old to an eleven year old girl.

Chapter 9 - Wolves and the Volturi Laws

Chapter 10 - The Goodbye Party

Chapter 11 - Moving In

Chapter 12 - Legal Matters

Chapter 13 - High School

Chapter 14 - Home School

Chapter 15 - Christmas and Jake's Birthday

Chapter 16 - Books and Suits

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Year Three - The Blood Moon - Renesmee's physical development grows from an eleven year old girl to a fifteen year old teenager.

Chapter 17 - Nessie's 2nd Birthday

Chapter 18 - Nahuel's Past

Chapter 19 - Rosalie's Reconsideration

Chapter 20 - Applications and Books

Chapter 21 - Embry and Imprinting

Chapter 22 - Jake and Embry's Talk

Chapter 23 - Summer Developments

Chapter 24 - Repercussions

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**Prologue**

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"AAAAAAH!"

Jerking up in bed, my eyes automatically started looking around for whoever was screaming. My heart was pounding a mile a second. It wasn't until I saw that the room was empty that I figured out it had come from me. That explained the soreness in my throat.

"NESSIE… WHAT HAPPENED?" Jacob yelled as he burst in through the door, banging his head on the low frame of the cabin, in the process. He was shaking, ready to phase and attack whatever had threatened his Imprint.

"I had another bad dream," I told him as my mama and daddy rushed into my bedroom behind him.

My Jacob immediately calmed down, but my daddy scrunched up his face like he knew something I didn't. Was there some scary danger in here that he heard with his mindreading? I tensed up.

"It's not that," he assured me. "It's just concerning that your nightmares have returned."

After the Volturi people's mission to kill me and my family was ruined and they went home, my nightmares began. I'd tried to be brave when I used my gift to show Mr. Aro that I wasn't dangerous to other Vampires. After he talked to my daddy, Aunt Alice, and two new friends that she and Uncle Jasper brought home with them, the scary Volturi left and my grandfather said that all the danger was over. Everyone was so proud of me and I was happy I didn't let them down and we didn't die. But that night, when I went to bed, I had a bad dream that the Volturi people came back. They realized they had made a mistake, and I really was dangerous. Then they killed me, my mama and daddy, and the rest of my family, my Jacob and all of the other Wolf people, and all of my new friends that had come to help me. Every night I closed my eyes the same dream came and didn't end until my screams woke me up.

When I had my first nightmare I refused to go back to sleep. Mama climbed into my bed to cuddle with me but as soon as she touched my arm I thought of the icy coldness of Mr. Aro's cheek and I automatically recoiled. It reminded me of my bad dream. "Sorry," I quickly apologized.

She said it was okay, but I think I made mama sad.

"I got it," Jacob said as he took me from mama and wrapped me in his arms, "Nessie, it's okay. You're completely safe," he whispered to me as he rocked me in his arms and carried me to the couch in the living room. "No-one is ever going to hurt you as long as I'm around, and I'm not going anywhere." He kept telling me things like that and I started to relax. The next thing I knew it was morning, I was still in my Jacob's arms.

He did the same thing the next night after I had another nightmare. And the next few after that.

One night I didn't even make it to my bed. I fell asleep in my Jacob's arms while we were watching a movie. I didn't have another nightmare and as nice as Jacob was I didn't want him losing any sleep, or spending any more nights on an uncomfortable sofa. And I missed my bed. So two nights ago I went back to sleeping in my own room.

This went on for another two weeks. Every night I'd have a nightmare. Either my mama, daddy or Jacob would try to help me to get back to sleep, but my Daddy quickly figured out that unless I was in my Jacobs warm comforting arms I would get another nightmare.

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**The Micro Moon**

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**Year One, Chapter One**

**The Discussion**

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Renesmee's Point of View

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It was the third of February, 2006. Just over one month after our encounter with the Volturi - the rulers of our Vampire world. We had successfully convinced them (at least publicly) that neither I, nor my family were a threat, and did not need to be destroyed, so now things were _peaceful_ again between us. For how long we were not sure, but chose not to dwell on that. Life, if you could consider a family of Vampires alive, moved on and we had begun to settle into a comfortable routine.

Some in the Cullen house had started talking amongst themselves soon after, that maybe, it might be time to leave Forks, Washington. It was thought, at least by them, that we needed to move and start over, not only because of the recent unpleasant memories now associated with this area but because my father, Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents have been here too long and people were starting to notice that the family didn't age; moreover Grandpa and Grandma's ages never matched up, even at the beginning.

My Grandpa, Carlisle Cullen, although he was born sometime around 1640, was changed into a Vampire when he was physically twenty-three, which he will eternally remain, but was currently trying to pass for someone closer to thirty-five. People at the hospital, where he was a doctor, were getting more and more suspicious, and the plastic surgery rumors were only keeping peoples suspicions at bay to a limited degree. And his wife, my Grandma, whom he had changed back in 1921, Esme Anne Platt Cullen, was forever twenty-six, not someone who looked old enough to be married for the past decade, let alone almost a century.

It was a bit better for their adopted "children". Among those were my Uncles - Emmett McCarty Cullen and Jasper Whitlock Hale, and their wives, my Aunts - Rosalie Lillian Hale and (Mary) Alice Brandon Cullen respectively. Aunt Rose and Uncle Jasper were pretending to be twins, hence them both using Aunt Rose's original human last name of Hale. Uncle Emmett and Aunt Alice were borrowing my Grandpa's last name of Cullen while living in Forks. They had pretended to be high school students when they first moved here four years ago.

Although Uncle Emmett, Uncle Jasper and Aunt Rosalie could pass for recent high school graduates, being that they were first turned into Vampires when they were all originally between eighteen and twenty years of age, it had been harder to pretend to be the sixteen year old Juniors they had claimed to be, when the Cullen's first moved to Forks, four years ago. Now, however they were easily passing for twenty year olds.

Aunt Alice was changed when she was nineteen, but at only 4'10 she could pass for much younger, which was good because she started out at Forks High School as a fifteen year old sophomore, and was now able to keep up the charade as a nineteen year old.

Things were almost as easy for my grandparents other adopted child, my father, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. Carlisle had changed him into a Vampire in 1918, when he was dying of Spanish Flu. He was just seventeen at the time, and still appeared so now, instead of the nineteen years old he was pretending to be, but again that was not that bad.

At least my mother, Isabella Marie Swan Cullen, or Bella as she preferred, had it easy, actually being the nineteen year old She's supposed to be; although if you asked her, she will forever claim to be eighteen, just shy of her nineteenth birthday when she gave birth to me and was changed, by my father, into her new Vampire self.

Then there is my Jacob. Jacob William Black is a shape-shifting Werewolf who is technically seventeen, but appears, and will forever look to be around twenty-five years old. That is, he will if he continues phasing; this is due to the changes that occurred with him when he first became a Wolf. He effectively stopped aging and became immortal like the rest of my family. He's the Alpha, the leader of his Wolf Pack and the biggest, fastest, strongest, bravest Wolf in La Push. He's perfect and I love him.

Lastly there is me, Renesmee Carlie Cullen. Nessie for short. While I have only been alive for five months, I have grown a lot since our encounter with the Volturi where I resembled the average human toddled, around two years of age. My Half-Vampire genetics enable my body to grow and mature faster than a humans, and my mind grows even faster still. I now have the mental equivalency of a young adult and appear similar to a three or four year old toddler. I grow so quickly, that I must mostly remain hidden from humans for now, possibly until I stop growing, when I turn seven.

Everyone will probably agree easily to move with one exception... my Jacob. I surmised that my mother was also going to put up somewhat of a fight since it meant having to move away from her father, my Grampy Charlie, but I believe she will eventually be okay. Jacob is the only one I am truly worried about.

The whole family, Grandma Esme, Grandpa Carlisle, Aunt Alice, Uncle Jasper, Aunt Rosalie, Uncle Emmett, my mother and father, Jacob and I of course, were currently sitting around the dining room table, well I was sitting in my usual spot, on Jacobs lap. Since my family were mostly Vampires, and Jacob and I were the only ones who ate human food, and I only when forced, the dining room mainly was used for family meetings such as this. The rest of my family, being Vampires, drank blood, animal blood, that is. The family joke was that we called ourselves vegetarians. I say we and not they because even though I can eat human food I am half-Vampire and drink blood as well. Actually I prefer it, even if my parents continually try to get me to consume human food. I don't understand how my Jacob eats that stuff.

I heard Grandpa Carlisle speaking to my father earlier in the day regarding his desire to call this meeting. His intent being to discuss the upcoming move and pick a suitable location.

"Thank you everyone for meeting me here, since this involves us all," my Grandpa Carlisle began. "As you are all aware we have been in Forks for approximately four years now but in light of _recent events_ I believe it is time for us to move on."

"WHAT?" Jacob yelped from his chair. I guess the news had taken him by surprise. Perhaps I should have warned him ahead of time. "You can't just leave. I thought we settled this back in September?"

I knew why Jacob was so upset. He had Imprinted on me the day I was born, the first moment he had looked into my eyes. Aunt Rosalie was holding me while my father was desperately trying to save my mother after my traumatic birth. It's events like that that make me wish I could not always remember every single detail of my life. But then I think that if I did not have such perfect recall I might not remember the look on my Jacobs face when he first saw me. It was love at first sight. Not romantic, I was just a baby after all, but still love. We were bound together, forever. He can no longer leave me, anymore than I could leave him.

My Grandfather continued in his normal, somewhat overly relaxed voice, "Jacob, circumstances have changed. Of course we understand that you cannot be away from Renesmee, since you Imprinted on her, and we are taking that into consideration regarding the proximity of our destination. While this means that we are asking you to break from your Pack, at least temporarily, we are also taking that understanding into our deliberations for the destination of our next move."

"Huh?" was all Jacob seemed able to get out.

At the same time Rosalie started screaming. "You want the _dog_ to come with us? Now we're never going to get rid of the stench."

"Hush Rose!" Grandma Esme snapped at her, then turned to us and her scowl that she had give my Aunt disappeared, replaced by a small smile. "Jacob, we were assuming that you would want to come with us and we would _all_ love to have you." Since I was sitting on his lap I could feel him relax beneath me, as soon as she said this.

Uncle Jasper spoke up next. "We need to be logical about this move. I believe we need to move, yes, but we also need to stay in the area."

Some confused looks swept through several members of the room, but not all. I assumed my father already knew what Uncle Jasper was going to say, since he could read his mind. And by the sound of the conversation, Grandma and Grandpa were already in on some of the details of the travel plans, even if all of the finer points had not been worked out yet. And Aunt Alice must have seen us moving, in one of her visions of the future.

But as Uncle Jasper continued his plan made a lot of sense. Having been a general in the Civil War when he was human, and then a leader in Maria's army, his Vampire creator, during the Southern Vampire Wars, he was always the (battle) strategist. "Obviously we need to leave the immediate area, for three main reasons."

Three? I could only think of two currently. What was I missing?

"First, as Carlisle stated, we have been here too long and cannot risk human exposure."

Agreeing nods swept across the table.

"Second, we've already been exposed to too many unknown Vampires, who are a possible threat. A lot of Vampires now know not only about us, and our vegetarian diet, but also about Renesmee, one of only a handful of half-Vampires. While those that stood witness with us should not be a threat, I cannot think the same of those that stood with the Volturi."

"What about the Volturi? They're still a threat too aren't they?" Jacob asked, as if it was the most obvious statement in the world.

"The Volturi are always a threat," Aunt Alice grinned, "but not immediately. I saw to that. They publicly went on record in front of the majority of the Vampire world, stating that we broke no laws and Renesmee was not a threat, so I don't see them attacking; at least any time in the near future."

"Great," Jacob muttered under his breath.

"Third we should leave the immediate area unless we want the entire Quileute Tribe changing into Werewolves," Uncle Jasper finished with a smirk in Jacob's direction.

Jacob had a puzzled look on his face again, and I wasn't completely sure what he was thinking.

"That being said, I don't think we dare go too far. We should stay close enough to Forks to monitor any possible nomadic Vampire curiosity in the near future, yet far enough away that we won't continue to set off the Quileute Wolf gene. And also," he now turned to speak directly to my Jacob, "if you do choose to come with us, it would seem best for you to be able to stay in communication with your Pack. At least for this move. That limits us to within three hundred miles from here, I believe."

Jacob just nodded.

Now I was confused, which almost never happened, given my perfect Vampire recall, enhanced thought processes, and advance brain. But I had to ask something. I placed my hand on his check to use my gift. It was how I communicated. Projecting my thought into someone's mind. I could talk, but preferred to communicate this way. _Why is there a question as to whether you would come with us? If the whole family has to move wouldn't that include you too?_

I could feel Jacob tensing up again as I continued to sit on his lap.

Why didn't Uncle Jasper, or the others, think Jacob was a part of our family? I knew Aunt Rosalie wasn't always the nicest to him, but my parents had told me that even in the closest families not everyone always got along. But he was my family, I didn't think anyone else would want him gone, how could I have missed something that big?

My father turned to me and gently started to explain. Since he could read minds he also heard what I had said to my Jacob "No, Renesmee, that's not what Jasper means. No one," he glanced so quickly over to Aunt Rosalie I almost missed it, "wants Jacob to leave us. But he has another family on the Reservation. He might not want to, or be able to leave them to come with us."

My heart sank at this news, but I guess I could understand that. Jacob had his father, Billy, and sister, Rachel, back on the Reservation. He, for all intents and purposes lived with my parents and me, at the cottage, a mile away from the main house we were in now, where the rest of my family lived. It was hard for me to picture him living with his other family. He had been with us for my entire life, not that it had been that long, but I just took it for granted. I guess it had not always been like this. But he had Imprinted on me, didn't that mean he would be with me forever, wherever and whenever I went? Was I wrong? Was I being selfish? Was I taking him away from his other family? His real family? But weren't we his family too? Wasn't I his real family? Wasn't he... I was snapped out of my head by the sound of my Jacob's voice. "I'm coming with you. I'll work something out with my Pack. If we stay within three hundred miles it won't be a problem. I'll figure it out." He was talking to everyone, but looked directly at me when he spoke.

Oh no, I didn't even think about how this would affect his Pack.

"What about you family, Jake?" my mother spoke for the first time. "Will they be okay without you? Or you without them?" she added thinking the same as me. We always seemed to be in agreement on most things.

"They have each other. My dad will be fine. He has Rachel to look after him, keep him company, and help him if he needs anything. And she has Paul." Paul Lahote was a Wolf in another Quileute Pack, under the other Alpha, Sam Uley. Rachel had been away at college, but moved back into her old room at Billy's ages ago to be with Paul soon after he Imprinted on her. Paul had a bad temper sometimes, but he loved Jacob's sister more than anything, he would never hurt her. And Jacob told me that they already decided they were going to live with Billy for a time after their wedding, while they saved up to buy a place of their own. "Jasper is right, we need to leave."

"What about you, Jake? Can you really leave them?" my mother tried again.

"It won't be a complete break yet, not totally, Bella," my father spoke up. "We can still visit now and then. You can visit Charlie, and Jacob can see Billy, Rachel, and his Pack. We will have to limit our travel to vehicles, no running, to minimize our scent trail. There will be no point in moving if we just lead more Vampires to our new home. And of course, at that close of a distance it won't be too hard for them to visit us as well."

With that my mother seemed to relax and the discussion moved on to choosing a new town to live in. When it was all said and done we all agreed on Hoodsport, WA. It was only around one hundred miles away from La Push, on the other side of the Olympic National Forest, well within the three hundred mile limit, and a three hour drive since we would need to go around the Olympic National Forest. But that meant my family and I would still be able to hunt there in emergencies, and we already knew the local "food supply". All regular hunting was agreed to be conducted further away, in Canada, traveling back and forth by car, to minimize our scent trail in the area, like my father had said. The town had a high school which my mother and father, my Aunts and Uncles, and Jacob would attend.

Jacob still had to complete his Junior and Senior years in order to graduate, since he had to drop out when he first began phasing into a Werewolf, and the others would go to keep up appearances. Grandma Esme agreed to home school me.

We decided that we would wait to move until mid September, after my mother's and my birthday's so that my Grampy, Charlie Swan, would get to celebrate with his daughter at least once more. This also gave Grandpa Carlisle enough time to give appropriate notice at the hospital. They would have plenty of time to be able to find a suitable replacement, and Grandpa Carlisle saw no problem in securing another medical job at the local MGH Hoodsport Family Clinic. It wasn't a hospital but he was sure he could do some good there.

My mother and Uncle Jasper also needed to get in touch with Mr. Jenks to create new identifications, school transcripts, credentials, and whatever else we would need for everyone to start over. I was told that he was a human who specialized in those types of things for the family, in exchange for some very generous monetary compensation. Everyone would get new identities except me and my Jacob, actually. He really did drop out of school his Junior year so he just needed to re-enroll and his father agreed to fill out the needed paperwork for Grandpa Carlisle to become his temporary guardian.

In the meantime, Grandma Esme was thrilled to be able to start working on finding a suitable house and converting it to meet our needs, so that when September rolled around we would be able to move right in to a completely renovated and furnished house.

"Nessie, I can tell something's bothering you. Wanna tell me what it is so I can help?" Jake asked me as we were goofing around in the forest behind our cottage. We had come out here soon after my grandfather adjourned the meeting. As usual my Jacob was all smiles.

_How will Zafrina, and her coven, find us if we move?_ I asked him with my gift. I would be heartbroken if I didn't get to see her pretty pictures ever again.

He scowled. "Hopefully they won't," I heard him mumble under his breath, before he started speaking louder. "I don't know sweetheart." When he saw my frown he quickly added, "I'm sure Edward or Alice would be able to find them though. I wouldn't worry about it. Why do you want to see her though? She gave me the creeps."

"I like seeing what she sees. Her eyes are amazing."

"You should be happy you don't have eyes like hers," he replied.

What? Oh no! I tried talking and everything got messed up. That's not what I meant. I should have just showed him. I meant to saw that I liked what she _saw_ and showed with her gift, not her actual eyes. But they were pretty too, not like my boring brown ones. Why didn't my Jacob like my friend's eyes? Maybe he just had never seen how pretty the color was; Aunt Rosalie had some jewelry that was the same color. I bet that would help him understand what I meant. Using my gift, I touched him lightly on the cheek and showed him a picture of Zafrina's eyes. Then I showed him Aunt Rosalie wearing her earrings.

"Pretty," I added out loud. I wasn't a fan of talking but he was always encourage me to do it more, so if it made him happy and helped get my point across I would do it, just as long as I didn't have to do it all the time.

"Sure, sure," he said back, but he didn't look convinced. In fact it looked like he disagreed with me, but didn't want to hurt my feelings. "Vampires are unnaturally pretty. I know." He was smiling, but I also saw him roll his eyes when he turned his head.

Argh! I went back to pulverizing some small rocks into dust with my hands and decided to try again sometime in the future, once I figure out how to articulate my point better, but it wasn't needed.

Daddy had heard me and when we went back to the cottage came over to talk. "Renesmee, I don't want you to worry. I'll find a way get in touch with Zafrina and give her our new address, so you can stay in contact with her," he told me and then asked to talk to me privately.

My Jacob always seemed to get sad when I was out of his sight, but we only went into my mother and father's bedroom. After closing the door, he whispered, ensuring Jacob wouldn't here us (probably), some suggestions of how to talk to him about Zafrina, but he warned me it would not be that easy. He reminded me that Zafrina's red eyes meant she took the lives of those the Wolves existed to protect.

I know he was right, but I still wanted us all to be friends. It might take time, but I knew I could do it.

He smiled at my determined thought, but I don't think my father was convinced I was going to be successful. It only made me more determined to prove him wrong.

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**Authors Notes **

1) I'm not SM :(

2) To the best of my ability I have corrected all errors in spelling, grammar and story consistency, but if you happen to notice anything please let me know.

3) If you have already read Sunrise - the chapters have been kept the same (excluding the first 6 sections of the next 50 years which were previously only one chapter each and have now been expanded to 2-3 each)

4) Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Nightmares and Meetings

**The Micro Moon**

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**Year One, Chapter Two**

**Nightmares and Meetings**

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Jacob's Point of View

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Today was a big day, with big changes and surprises. Pretty soon I was going to be moving away from my home and family. I had a lot to think about.

At nine o'clock that night I tucked Nessie into her bed, at the cottage then snuggled myself in next to her. She fell into a peaceful sleep right away and I hoped she would stay that way all night long.

She had started having nightmares after our encounter with the Volturi and Bella, Edward, and I found that the only way to get her to have a peaceful nights rest was if I stayed in bed, beside her, throughout the night.

Bella and Edward had tried staying with her at first but it didn't help. She would still wake up screaming four to five times a night. They even tried having Jasper stay nearby to use his gift altering her emotions to calm her down. But that didn't make the nightmares go away. Finally after weeks of hounding on my part they agreed to let me have a try. I knew I could help her. We were connected through our Imprint bond. I always knew what she needed.

She seemed so mature for her age, and mostly talked and acted like an adult, but the Volturi encounter - threatening her life, and that of all of the Cullens, under the pretence of them creating an Immortal Child, something against Vampire Law, had scarred her. But the charges were of course false, an excuse for their leader, Aro, to either get Edward and Alice to join him, adding to his power, or eliminate them, and the rest of the Cullens, as possible adversaries. Nessie's little mind, no matter how fast it worked, or how quickly she learned, it had all been too much for her to handle.

While she was technically only five months old, she looked like a 3 year old girl, but her intelligence was miles ahead of that. It was sometimes easy to forget just how young she really was. She could play Mozart on the piano, had already read Moby Dick, Pride and Prejudice, and Frankenstein, among many others, and just yesterday claimed that she is just a few games away from being able to beat Jasper at chess, which, while I don't know how to play chess myself, had no reason to doubt.

But she was also just a child in some ways, with only five months of life experiences. I'm not really sure how to comprehend that. She understood everything that was going on around her from the moment she was born; before she was born, actually. Nessie had understood how she was hurting Bella in her womb, after Edward explained it to her, and she worked on modifying her movements to ease Bella's pain and suffering. There was no point in her life so far where she just reacted to situations. She analyzed the information that was presented to her and formed an appropriate response based on that information and her own observations. But she knew we had been worried and scared about the Volturi and it had affected her, much more than any of us had realized, it turned out. While she seemed to put up a good front at the time, now that it was over her façade slowly crumbled.

And now here we were. She mostly seemed fine when she was awake. But at night, three days after the Volturi left, the nightmares began. I talked to Edward about it. He told me how she is smart, _Duh, I already knew that! _I didn't say it out loud, I didn't need to; he could read it in my mind. Her conscious mind understood that the danger was gone but her unconscious mind was still working through things. Edward thought it would just take time. I hoped he was right, I hated seeing Nessie so upset, but would do anything for her. _Calm down, even adults get nightmares_, I thought to myself.

So here we were. The two of us in her parents cottage, that the Cullens had given them for a wedding present, where I regularly bumped my head on the door frames and almost have to crouch down when I walk around to prevent my head from scraping the too short ceilings. I was a bit cramped, squeezing my 6'7" frame into in Nessie's tiny bed, as well, but didn't mind as long as it meant she got a good night's sleep. It was however a bit disturbing being down the hall from Bella and Edward. There are some things I just didn't want to hear. Luckily, though, my being here meant Nessie never woke up. She still had nightmares occasionally, even with me here, but never even close to as bad as when I was sleeping away from her; and never as strong or scary enough to wake her in the middle of the night. A gentle hug would generally be enough to calm her down.

That night I laid awake, unable to fall asleep myself, thinking about everything that was discussed during the meeting. I would be leaving my home soon. One hundred miles was not that far, I could still visit from time to time, well, for this move anyway. But, it just hit me. I was going to live for a very long time, maybe forever, literally. Well for at least as long as Nessie, I hoped, and that seemed like it was going to be a long time. Nahuel, the only male half-Vampire known to exist, who had helped us with our encounter with the Volturi, was one hundred-fifty years old and still looked like he was in his early twenties.

Nessie's childhood was going by so fast. The entire month of December she lived under a death sentence. I had tried to make January extra fun for her. But there was only so much you can do while cooped up at home and only leaving to hunt in the nearby woods. I decided to take her to La Push, meet some new people, kids even. I'll have to talk to Bella and Edward right away. I don't want her to miss out on any more of her childhood. It would be gone before we knew it.

Eventually I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all of the fun I hoped to squeeze into Nessie's condensed youth.

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The next morning I woke up with my angel still asleep beside me. I managed to maneuver my way out of bed as gently as I could so that I didn't wake her. I wanted to find Bella and Edward and get their okay with taking Nessie to the Reservation, before I even brought it up with her. I just hope I won't be walking in on anything. I assume Edward had already heard my thoughts so this should be fairly easy.

As soon as I walked out of Nessie's room I could smell the breakfast someone was cooking. When I turned the corner to the kitchen they had added last month, when it looked like I would be staying, I saw Bella over the stove.

"Morning Bells, where's Edward?"

"He had to take care of a few things. But before he left he mentioned that there was something you wanted to ask me."

_Thanks, Edward_. He couldn't have just told her? My Imprinting on his daughter eliminated my feelings for his wife, since I had only been attracted to the part of her that would one day become Nessie, and it dissolved a lot of the tension between us, at least temporarily. It was probably going to return in a new way as Nessie grew up. But I thought things were better since we stood side by side against the Volturi, yet he seemed to enjoy screwing with me every now and then. But if he was leaving the decision up to Bella then this should be easy. Even when she was human she had never found us Wolves dangerous. That was all Eddie.

"I was hoping to take Nessie with me today, maybe go to La Push, let her play with some other kids."

She scrunched her face. "Jacob, is she allowed on the Reservation? Isn't that against the treaty?"

My mind flashed back to a memory from a few years ago, of when I was trying to break a human Bella out of Edwards clutches, back when I still saw him as a threat, They were about to go into Forks High School when I rode up on my bike. I hated the way he would seize her in his arms, almost as much as the fact that she didn't object to it. He wouldn't let her go, wouldn't let her be with me, be friends with me. My thoughts at the time were how Bella's life was in danger being around Edward and his Vampire family. He in turn thought that me and the rest of the Wolves were too emotional, too angry, too deadly for his fragile human Bella. Now Bella was acting the same way, not wanting Nessie to go to La Push. No way! She knew that the Wolves were perfectly safe.

"You know I trust you to care for, and protect Nessie, with your own life," she continued, smoothing out her features. "There is no one I trust more to watch her, besides Edward and myself." That made me relax. More than relax. A huge grin spread across my face. It was short lived though when I thought about what she first said.

I never even considered that. No Vampires, not even Bella, were technically allowed in La Push, according to the treaty. An exception was made once when I had been hurt fighting the Newborn army, but that was an emergency situation. The Cullen's are the ones who first made the treaty, with my ancestors, decades ago. And Nessie technically was a Cullen and a half-Vampire. But she was also my Imprint. According to our werewolf "laws" no Wolf was allowed to hurt another Wolfs Imprint but it said nothing about not prohibiting them from our lands.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I guess I should clear it with the council. I really don't need any more misunderstandings right now. It shouldn't be too hard though."

The Tribes Council of Elders currently consisted of my Dad, Sue Clearwater, and Old Quil Ateara. I probably should invite Sam too. Sam was the Alpha of the other Wolf Pack and technically the unofficial Chief of the Tribe, although others thought I was. It was more of an unofficial thing anyway and I didn't really care what he thought, though, but I didn't need to make waves. Things were finally better between us since I first broke from his Pack. Sam and I had reconciled, my Pack was allowed back on the Reservation, and both Packs coordinated and shared patrolling duties.

I quickly took out my phone and called Billy. "Hey Dad, could you get the council and Sam together at the house in about 30 minutes? I need to talk to everyone about something."

_Is everything okay son? Do we have another Vampire problem? _He sounded worried, which made me feel bad, I hadn't meant to frighten him.

"No, nothing's wrong," I tried to reassure him with the most soothing voice I could muster over the phone. "I just need to clear something with everyone. See you soon dad. There's nothing to worry about."

As soon as I hung up I saw that Nessie was up. Like me she was still in her pajamas, but in contrast to my plain tee-shirt and boxers she was in a frilly nightgown that Alice bought her. She would probably look perfectly at home in one of Bella's Victorian novels. After running across the length of the cottage at her normal inhumanly fast half-Vampire speed she joined us in the kitchen and lifted herself up easily, into the chair next to me, at the kitchen table.

"Morning Nessie, how did you sleep?"

_Good morning, my Jacob,_ she said to me through her gift, after touching my cheek. I love how she calls me that, because it is true, I am hers, in every way and am glad she knows it. I was so lucky to have ended up with such a wonderful Imprint. It's strange though, I never had to tell her, she just somehow always knew. I get that someday we will need to talk about exactly what it means, but not yet. _You know I always sleep well when I am with you._

"Now that you're up Nessie, Esme wanted me to pass along a message to the two of you." Bella said to us. "She wants to meet with the both of you sometime soon so you can go over with her how you would like your room set up in the new house. Paint colors, design styles, art for the walls, that sort of thing."

"That sounds like fun. I would love some input on my new room." Nessie exclaimed out loud. It always shocked me whenever she would talk instead of using her gift. She really only did it when she needed to communicate with more than one person at a time. But her voice was lovely and she would need to eventually start speaking more if she ever wanted to interact with humans – once she was older. She did it with her Grandfather Charlie and Sue when she saw them, but since they were in on the secret, Sue more than Charlie, it wouldn't be that big of a deal if she slipped. She would have to be careful if and when we went to the Res.

"I'm sure whatever you choose will be wonderful Nessie. Bella, could you let Esme know I will try to come by later. I have to get going soon."

_I thought I heard you on the phone, Jacob. Are you going somewhere?_

Of course Nessie had overheard my call to Billy. I wonder if she knew of my conversation with Bella before that. No, even if I missed it, Bella would have heard if Nessie was awake and she would have talked to me much softer, so Nessie would not overhear.

"Yes, I have to go to La Push this morning, but I won't be gone long and then we can spend the rest of the day together. How does that sound?"

_Okay_, was all she thought to me, before releasing my cheek and digging into her breakfast of scrambled eggs. She loved eggs. It was weirdly one of the only "human foods", as she called it, that we could get her to eat. She still preferred blood to real food.

Really, though? That was it? I was prepared for a bit more of a fight. She usually wanted to spend every second with me. I briefly wondered if she was up to something, but didn't have time to get into it now. I needed to leave right away if I wanted to make it to the Res on time. And I did not want to give them any reason to deny me my request, not that I really thought they would.

My dad knew how important Nessie was to me. And Sue was probably going to be her step-grandmother eventually. I know it was still early in their relationship but everyone knew where Sue and Charlie were headed. If Charlie ever worked up the courage to ask her to marry him, I am sure she would say yes in a heartbeat.

Then there was Old Quil. His grandson, Quil Ateara V, was one of my best friends. So even if Old Quil never Imprinted, himself, he must have heard the pull we Wolves have to our Imprints, from his grandson.

After finishing breakfast and quickly getting dressed, I rode the motorcycle, that I had restored with Bella a couple of years ago, and arrived at my father's house twenty minutes later, just in time. As I climbed off my bike I could see Sue Clearwater's car already in the driveway. My father, Billy Black and Sue were chatting in the kitchen. I think my dad had hoped to start something with her someday, after her husband, Harry died, but Charlie beat him to it. He never made a big deal out of it, Charlie was his best friend after all, but I could tell he hasn't gotten over it, completely, yet.

"Hey, son. Sam is bringing Old Quil. They should be here any minute." Just as he finished talking I heard Sam's truck pull up and a minute later they walked through the door. Times up and I was suddenly nervous. I wasn't sure why. It's not like I couldn't stay just living at the Cullen's cottage with Nessie, at least until September. I would still see her every day. But she would miss out on some things. I wanted her to see where I grew up, see how normal people lived, and to play with other children.

The Cullen's could give her a lot, buy her anything, well, almost anything, she wanted or needed, but interacting with normal people was not one of them. She needed this. Yes, we could go somewhere else. Forks, Port Angeles, Seattle, anywhere really, but I thought this was better. This was home. I felt connected to this place and I wanted to share it with her. My home was also safer with all of the Wolves around. No Vampires would be able to set foot on the Res.

"Okay, we're all here. What do you want Jake?"

"Gee Sam, nice to see you too," I said.

"Boys, play nice. Jake what can we do for you? Billy said that it wasn't a new Vampire problem so why do you need to talk to us?" Sue could be so diplomatic.

Okay, here goes. Maybe if I just blurt it out, everyone will say "yes" before having a chance to think about it.

"Well, as you all know I Imprinted on Nessie Cullen. And wanted to bring her here, to La Push, take her to First Beach, let her play with some of the kids around her age, bring her to a bonfire or two -"

Old Quil cut me off before I even got to finish. "NO! My father and the other Elders made a treaty with those bloodsuckers back in the 1930's to keep them off our land and keep our people safe for a reason. We will not change it now, Imprint or no Imprint."

My heart sank. "But she's just a child. She's not a threat. Nessie is half-human. She eats human food." I didn't mention that she also drinks animal blood. "She is alive, her heart beats, she grows and learns and loves." I can't believe it, I was having the same argument that Edward was having with those evil Volturi leaders back in December. "Dad, Sue, Sam, you've met her. You know she's not a danger to anyone here."

"Calm down, son. I agree with you. Renesmee is a sweet little girl. I don't see a problem with her coming here."

"So let me get this straight," Old Quil began again, "she is NOT a Vampire? She does not drink blood, she does not have Vampire strength or speed?"

Damn. I guess I should fess everything up.

"Well . . . honestly, yes, Nessie does drink blood, but only from animals. And, yes, she is faster and stronger than humans, and she also grows incredibly fast. But she learns even faster. She knows right from wrong. She knows killing humans is wrong. She has never lost control."

I turned to look directly at Sue now. "Sue, you have been around her with Charlie. She is perfectly safe. She would never bite either of you. You know that."

"That's true Jake. But I also knew the risk I was taking. The children here are innocent."

Now Sue was against me? This was not going how I thought it would. "There won't be any risk. I will personally guarantee that. She will never leave my side. Please." I was begging now, great.

"Sam, you have been awfully quiet through all of this. Is there anything you would like to add?" Old Quil asked.

"You know I was never a fan of the Cullen's," Sam began, "but over this past year, fighting beside them, getting to know them, seeing how they live and hunt only animals, I have begun to see why Jake trusts them. But I also heard how Renesmee drank human blood just a few months ago, although I also know how she has been fine around the limited human contact she has been exposed to. I do worry that being on the Reservation, completely surrounded by humans, might be overwhelming for her. I am not saying she would lose control and start attacking anyone, but it is something that we should be aware could be a possibility."

"I think we have heard enough. Son, why don't you and Sam give us a few minutes to talk about this, alone." Dad gestured towards the door. I guess that was our cue to head outside.

As soon as we were out the door I turned to Sam and pushed him. He wasn't expecting that and fell to the ground. "How could you say such a thing?" I shouted. "You've met Nessie. You know she would never hurt anyone. She's an angel."

"Jake, she's not an angel, I know you cannot see that." He was back on his feet now and in my face, yelling back at me, "She's your Imprint, and a half-Vampire. You only see the good in her. But it's my job to protect our people."

"It's my job to protect our people too. And I know Nessie is not a threat. I would never bring her here if she was. I would not have Imprinted on her if she was," I yelled right back.

I was shaking and about to phase when I heard Sue's voice calling to us. "Hey, break it up you two. Come back inside before you seriously hurt each other. We have come to a decision."

"Jake, son, we have come to a sort of compromise," my father began, a minute later, back in the kitchen, after Sam and I had calmed down. Billy on the other hand was shooting a sideways glance at Old Quil. I guess he was not completely onboard with their decision but was going along with it, whatever it was. "Renesmee may come to the Reservation."

YES!

"Under certain conditions."

Okay, I could live with that.

"You need to be with her the entire time she is here."

That's fine. I already said I would do that.

"And one other Wolf, from Sam's Pack, needs to be . . . with her."

Translation: _guarding her,_ but that was fine. Nessie was perfectly safe. We could deal with a babysitter.

"No other Cullen is allowed on La Push."

That's fine, no different than before.

"And we want 24 hours advanced notice whenever she will be here."

Oh, well I guess that means today is out.

"Fine, then you can expect us around ten tomorrow morning. Sam, can you arrange for someone from your Pack to meet us at the border?" I knew the routine, I had to go through something similar, two years ago, shuttling a human Bella back and forth, while protecting her from Victoria, a Vampire bent on killing her, in retribution for Edward killing her mate, James. Although this time I was on the other side and the Packs were trying to protect people from Nessie. Ridiculous.

"If that is the council's decision, then fine. Jake, I'll have someone there in time to meet you." Sam said before taking off without another word. He was pissed but I didn't care. It was the council's decision, not his.

Sue ended up giving Old Quil a ride home while I hung around to talk to my dad. I needed to tell him about the Cullen's upcoming move and how I would be going with them. He took it pretty well, better than I expected. I think he just wanted me to be happy. And he was glad I would be going back to high school.

By the time I finished going over all the details of our move it was time to go. I had promised Nessie we would spend the day together and I didn't want to return too late.

I still had to talk to my Pack about the move but one disaster at a time was all I could handle right now.


	3. Dinner Plans and Chaperones

**The Micro Moon**

* * *

**Year One, Chapter Three**

**Dinner Plans and Chaperones**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Jacob was off on something important he had to take care of at the Quileute Reservation, so I decided to use this time to start planning his Valentine's Day present. My mother and father told me that Valentine's Day was a day you spend with the person, or people, you love and that you can give them a gift, to show them how much they mean to you, but it was not required.

I reached for my mother and, knowing I wanted to talk to her, she bent down so I could touch her cheek. _What do you think would be a good gift to give Jacob? _

"You want to give Jake a Valentine's Day present?" My mother seemed happily surprised.

"I have a great idea, let's go shopping. I'm sure we can find something." Alice appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Thanks Aunt Alice," I said out loud since she was on the other side of the room, "but I would like to make him something. That way it will be more personal. What does he like the most?"

"FOOD!" Uncle Emmett yelled from somewhere in the house.

I think he was trying to be funny, but it was true. Jacob loved to eat.

"That's perfect. I can make him a special Valentine's Day Dinner. Mom, can you help me with it?"

"Of course sweetheart. What would you like to make?"

Hmmm. "All of his favorite foods," I said.

"That is going to be a big meal. I don't think there is anything that I have ever seen him not eat. Maybe we should narrow it down a bit."

"What does he like to eat the most?"

"The _most_? I'm not sure. Why don't you ask him when you see him later?" my mother suggested.

"I would but I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"You don't have to tell him why you want to know, Nessie. I am sure he would tell you anything you wanted to know about most things without question." Alice alleged.

That's true. The Imprinting did seem to smooth the way for most things whenever I had wanted something. But I never wanted to push him, or take advantage. But this was something small and it was something that would make him happy. I guess I could just ask. But I didn't want to be that obvious. Maybe I could be a little sneaky; talk to Billy and some of his Pack. Seth would definitely know.

* * *

The next day Jacob surprised me by taking me to the Quileute Reservation. I had never been there before. This was going to be so much fun, I just knew it.

There were a few rules, though that my mother and father explained to me before I left with Jacob, that I had to follow. I couldn't expose myself to the humans so that meant I had to remember four things.

1) I had to watch my speed - no dashing around in a blur.

2) Be mindful of my strength – I looked like a toddler and should just avoid trying to pick things up altogether.

3) I needed to mostly talk out loud, and try not use my gift. While a human wouldn't know I was talking to someone if they saw me touching someone's cheek it would still look weird, and that could raise their suspicions.

4) And lastly absolutely no hunting in the forest around La Push. Apparently that was forbidden there whether humans were around or not. But my Jacob took me out hunting yesterday once he got back from . . . whatever he had to do at La Push, so I knew that would not be a problem.

"Nessie, do you remember Paul? He's in Sam's Pack?" Jacob asked me as we drove to the Reservation in his Rabbit. He was so talented. He built the car all by himself, piece by piece from wrecks, and old spare parts, and scraps he found at the junkyard and . . . I don't even know where else. I don't think even my Aunt Rosalie could have done that and she knew almost everything there was to know about cars.

I started to move my hand to his face to answer, but then realized we were where humans could see me and put my hand down. "Of course, he Imprinted on your sister, Rachel, right?" I said out loud. I never forgot anything, and Jacob knew that so I was not sure where he was going with this topic of conversation. Was he just testing that I wouldn't use my gift?

"That's right, Nessie. Well he is going to meet us at the Quileute border. He has to . . . I think it would be nice if the two of you got to know each other a bit better."

"That sounds like a good idea if we are going to be family someday," I replied, seeing that he wasn't testing me, but I also knew that there was more to it than what he said, yet I was not sure what, and I didn't want to push it. If it had been important I know Jacob would tell me. He would never intentionally want to hurt me, even by keeping something from me.

We met Paul by the side of the road near the Quileute border. Jake never even stopped the car, he just slowed down a bit and Paul jumped in, then we were off, headed to First Beach where Jacob said his whole Pack was waiting to meet us.

It was just after 10am, and my mother and father said I could stay out with Jacob until dark. I was so excited to not only be able to spend the whole day getting to know Paul but being _anywhere_ that was . . . different from the house, cottage, or surrounding woods. And this also gave me the perfect opportunity to ask Jacob's Pack about his food preferences.

Jacob had driven the Rabbit right up to the edge of the beach. Grabbing me under my arms he easily lifted me out his side of the car, then setting me on the ground but not letting go of my hand as he guided us to the beach. We always held hands as we walked. As I advanced a few feet I noticed a strange sensation. The ground was moving weirdly. Looking down I noticed that I had crossed from the paved parking area onto the beach. I had seen sand before – in movies and television shows, depicted in paintings, in photos, books, and the like . . . but this was my first experience actually coming in contact with sand. I wasn't sure if I liked it yet.

Thirty more steps and we would reach Jacob's Pack. They were already on the beach, waiting for us. The more I walked on it the more I was deciding that I did not like sand. But I had to keep going. Twenty-five more feet . . . that was all I would need to go, all I would need to take on, on this unfamiliar, and increasingly objectionable shifting surface. The thought was not pleasant. Maybe if I ran, not full speed. I remembered what my parents had said about not exposing myself to any humans that might be around. I slipped my hand out of Jacobs and ran as quickly as humanly possible.

There we go. Safe on the blanket someone had set up.

"Nessie, are you okay?" Jacob said after he and Paul jogged up to me. He looked concerned. I had never _not_ held his hand.

"Yes," I didn't want him to think anything was wrong, "I was just excited to see everyone again." Please don't make a big deal about this, I pleaded with my eyes.

He seemed to be able to read my mind because he just gave me a smile and sat down next to me, starting some small talk with the rest of his Pack. Thank goodness. I didn't want to have to resort to using my gift, putting my thoughts directly into his head, by touching his cheek, to explain my (most likely) overreaction to sand.

I needed to get my mind off of the creepy beach texture.

"So guys, what's for lunch?" I know we had just arrived, but why wait. Maybe I could slip in my hidden agenda right under Jacob's nose. What was the harm in starting my plan right away?

"Wow, you really are perfect for Jake. You think with your stomach too." One of the Wolves laughed. It was Embry Call, one of Jacob's best friends and Pack member.

"Nope! That's possibly the only thing I've found that we don't have in common." Jacob countered.

He was right. We were really well matched despite the fact that I currently look like a three year old girl and he appeared to be that of a 25 year old man, with 16 years more life experience than me.

"I'm just a kid, what can I say; I'm picky." Okay, so I'm not _really_ picky, I just prefer blood over human food, but this was not the time or place to talk about that.

"Well, don't worry, I'm sure we can find you something to eat," Seth Clearwater said.

"Or someone," Paul huffed under his breath, while looking away angrily.

"Shut up Paul!" Seth shouted back in my defense.

"Maybe if I tried some new things I might find something I like. What is everyone's favorite foods?" I asked being sure not to signal anyone, meaning Jacob, out. Perfect.

"We're Wolves, Nessie. We eat anything and everything," Quil spoke up.

"Okay, but what is the best, the most delicious, delectable things that satisfy your palette?" I asked while seemingly, almost absent mindedly, playing with a handful of sand. I was trying to get use to it. And to actually see it up close, to feel it slip through my fingers, to crush it into a ball, then break it back up . . . it was just so weird. Different than anything I had ever touched before. Then there was the smell. It smelled like fish. It wasn't my favorite, having an utter hatred for eating the vile things. They were smelly and slimy and revolting. But I tried to ignore that aspect. The more I played with it, the more I realized that it wasn't so bad.

Back to my inquiry. "Perhaps from before you became Wolves, when your tastes were more . . . discerning?"

Quil's eyes grew wide. Oh no. What had I done wrong?

"Wow, nice vocab, little one. You don't sound at all like my ClaireBear," he exclaimed.

Phew.

Clair was Quil's Imprint, and unlike me, her mind and body where that of a real three year old.

"She just looks three, Quil. Nessie's probably smarter than all of us combined," Jacob told him.

They all got quite after that. This was not going well.

"Um, so about your favorite foods -" I started again, trying to change the subject back.

"Nessie, even before we were Wolves we were still teenage boys, we always, pretty much, ate anything," Seth replied, lightening the mood.

"Thanks," Leah Clearwater said, while punching her brother in the arm.

I guess she didn't like always getting grouped in with the boys all of the time. She was after all the only female Werewolf . . . ever.

"Okay." That was discouraging. "So then what are your least favorite foods then?" Maybe a reverse of tactics would work better.

"That's easy, vegetables," Seth said.

"Salad," Embry added.

"Anything plain . . . unseasoned," Quil joined in.

"Or boiled," Leah sneered, then quickly spotted as she realized that she accidentally spoke to me for the first time today. She didn't seem to like me. Not that I cared, but Jacob shot her a warning look, which I pretended not to notice.

"What about you Paul?" He really hadn't spoken much since we had arrived, besides his one snide comment.

He looked at me like I was speaking another language.

"Um, mushy things I guess," Apparently a quick quip was all I was going to get from him, since he looked back out to the ocean after he spoke. He didn't seem to really want to be here, despite what Jacob had first told me. I wasn't sure what was wrong though. It couldn't be me, he just met me.

"Jacob?" He was the only one left that hadn't answered.

"Yes Nessie?" A smile spread across his face simply because I was talking to him. I loved how easily we could make each other happy.

"You haven't told me your least favorite food yet."

"Nessie, you have eaten every meal with me, every day of your life. I'm sure you already know," he replied as he held out his hands, which I quickly climbed into before he placed me in his lap, to give me a giant hug.

Maybe he was right. Was I overthinking this? Did I already know? Probably.

Looking over at everyone, they had begun talking to each other about various things when I noticed that they had all taken their shoes off. Why would they do that? The only time I would take mine off would be when I went to bed or took a shower, or something. Jacob would rarely wear shoes, what with all of the phasing he had to do, perhaps it was a Wolf thing. I decided to just ask Jacob, so I gingerly placed my hand on his cheek and used my gift to ask, unnoticed.

"It's normal at the beach. Go ahead and take your shoes off and feel how the sand feels between your toes," he quietly replied with a smirk. "I bet you'll love it."

I doubt that, but I took then off anyway. Jake had never lied to me before.

He was right, of course. The sensation of the grains of sand passing between my toes actually felt nice once I gave it a chance.

Just then Paul turned to Jacob, not noticing our private conversation, and asked to speak to him alone for a moment. They went off a bit and almost in a hushed tone Paul whispered to him, "Look Jake, I need to get back to Rachel, I'll call someone else to come babysit, but something came up this morning and I really need to go."

With that he took out his phone and made arrangements for another Wolf named Brady, to come take his place.

"Jacob, what did Paul mean by getting someone else to babysit?"I asked him, when he returned to me, after placing me once again in his lap.

I could feel Jacob immediately tense up under me.

"You heard that, did you," he asked more rhetorically, than an actual question. "Nessie, I should have been completely honest with you before, but I didn't think it was anything you needed to know, sorry."

"That's okay, my Jacob. Just please tell me now." I responded calmly with a hint of a smile. My getting upset would not help anything and I wanted to ease my Jacobs discomfort as much as possible. Whatever it was, it seemed to be really troubling him.

"You know how your family has a treaty with the Tribe, right?"

"Yes, my family agreed to not bite humans or go on Quileute land."

"Well, the Tribe's Elders agreed to make an exception for you to be able to come here, but they . . . they thought it would be best if someone from Sam's Pack kept an eye on you, just in case. I know you would never do anything. They're just being ridiculously, overly cautious, Nessie. You're not too upset, are you?" He looked deep into my eyes and gave me a smirk so I know that even though this was serious there was nothing to worry about.

"My Jacob, I'm fine and it's okay," I said out loud, and then, I knew I wasn't supposed to but chanced it again and placed one hand on his cheek while looking directly into his eyes. I wanted him to know how seriously I took this. _I'm not going to__ hurt anyone, and this will just give me an opportunity to meet more of Sam's Pack_.

Jacob signed in relief, I hadn't realized he was worried how I would take the news. "Nessie, you are too good to be true. Thanks for being so understanding." His face broke into the gleaming, wide smile that I loved. "What do you say to building a sand castle?"

A sand castle? While I knew what they were, I had never actually made one.

Jake must have seen the apprehension on my face, or simply felt it through our Imprint bond, because he sent me a reassuring smile and started explaining how to build one.

Not too long later we had a pretty good foundation going. Everyone, even Leah, was helping.

Before long the only thing needed was a flag on top. I found a twig and leaf that would work perfectly, but we had built the castle so big, and I still only had the physical appearance of a three year old. There was no way I could reach the top tower at my present height so I reached over and touched Jacob's cheek and sent him an image of him lifting me up so I could plant my flag on the top of the castle.

Soon after we were done putting the finishing touches on it – a window here, a drawbridge there, Brady showed up and Paul took off. I wondered what was going on with him. I will have to ask Jacob later, if he ever finds out himself.

The rest of the day passed peacefully, with everyone playing on the beach. Someone found a ball that entertained the guys for over any hour. Jacob and I went swimming in the water for a bit while the rest of the Pack went cliff diving. I thought I might like to try it when I got older but I had a feeling my mother and father might not like it if I attempted something like that yet. It's not like I would get hurt, but I think they like to pretend I am a little girl still. And I didn't want to upset them by crushing their fantasy.


	4. Rose and Valentines

**The Micro Moon**

* * *

**Year One, Chapter Four**

**Rose and Valentines**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Valentine's Day was tomorrow and I had Jacobs dinner all planned. I would be cooking him all of his favorite foods that I had noticed him eat over the past nine days (and all of the months before that), over at the main house, while my mother _supervised_. My mother, father, and I were in the kitchen there, putting the final touches on the menu.

_Dad, do you think you will be able to distract Jacob for an hour or two before dinner tomorrow so I will be able to cook everything without his knowledge?_ I asked without speaking, knowing he would just hear my mind.

My mother had been giving me cooking lessons all week. We did a practice run of all the different components of tonight's meal, mixed in with a variety of others, so Jacob wouldn't be expecting everything together. That way I was also able to gauge whether or not I had deciphered his favorite foods or not, based on his physical and emotional reactions, along with the sums of each food eaten. I tried to be very scientific about it.

"Of course sweetheart. After that though, I am going to have to steal your mother for the remainder of the night," my father smiled over at her.

I understood. It was their first Valentine's Day together since they got married. He had already talked to me in private about my staying in his old room tomorrow night instead of at the cottage. I didn't mind, and I would rather not hear _anything_. They deserved some time to themselves. It was a little funny though to see the embarrassment on his face. He tried to hide it as best he could, but I have always been able to see though his façade.

_Sure dad. _I mentally said to my father, then switched to speak out loud so my mother could hear me as well. "Thank you for both of your help. I hope Jacob likes everything." I was a little nervous.

"Renesmee he will love it, if not for any other reason than because it came from you."

"Yeah, you could serve him road kill and the dog wouldn't know the difference."

"Rosalie, that's not very nice. Nessie worked hard on this and she wants to do something special for Jake," my mother said. "It's going to be great sweetie," she added turning her attention back to me, after scowling at my Aunt.

"Nessie, you know that's not what I meant. I know you will do an amazing job cooking. Everything you do is remarkable. I just wish you would not waste your time on that mongrel."

"Aunt Rose what is your problem with my Jacob? Why do you say things like that and treat him so badly? What has he ever done to you?"

I have never asked her directly before. I had seen her animosity towards him but never a reason why. I knew my family, being Vampires, and Jacob and his Pack, being Werewolves, didn't get along naturally. But from all of the stories I had heard, that should all be over. Between the battle with a Vampire named Victoria and her newborn army before I was born, and our encounter with the Volturi, I thought the hostility was gone now. Rosalie attitude toward Jacob seemed to be the last remaining holdout. I have not spent that much time with Sam's Pack to be completely certain of them, but I have never heard anything negative on their part.

When Aunt Rosalie didn't answer right away I used my gift to really show her how much what she said upset me. That way I could also communicate to her my feelings and emotions on the subject. _Don't you see, that when you hurt Jacob, you hurt me? Why would you do that to me?_

Rosalie looked at me like I had slapped her in the face. Then her face relaxed and it was replaced with something else - shame maybe?

"I'm so sorry Nessie, I didn't mean to hurt you -" Aunt Rosalie started to apologize after a brief period of silence, when I heard Jacob walk through the front door. He must have heard what she said because he ran up the stairs faster than I had ever seen him move, while not in his Wolf form, straight into the kitchen.

"YOU HURT HER?" he screamed at her while running over to me. He knelt down and began running his hands over my arms and legs, I guess checking for open wounds, or broken bones, or something. When he didn't find anything physically wrong with me he turned to Aunt Rose.

"What did you do to Nessie?" He was right in front of her now, his face inches from hers. Jacob looked so angry. Was he shaking?

She screeched back at him. "Get out of my face, dog!"

I guess he didn't hear the entire conversation; including the earlier part about me cooking him dinner. A quick look over to my father and he gently shook his head "no". That's good, my surprise wasn't ruined, but I really didn't want my Jacob and Aunt Rose to fight.

"Easy Jake, it's just a misunderstanding. No one hurt Nessie. Calm down," my mother tried defusing the situation.

"Jacob," I started, reaching up to gently place my hand in his face but clearly could reach so I settled on holding his hand and speak out loud, "mom's right, I'm fine." He stopped shaking as soon as I touched him.

"Then why did I hear you say she hurt you?" the anger was still in his voice.

"You missed the beginning of the conversation. She just said something stupid that hurt my _feelings_. Aunt Rose loves me." I turned to look directly at her now. "She would never do anything to _intentionally_ hurt me. Right Aunt Rose?"

"Of course not Nessie. I am really sorry. Forgive me?" she asked.

"I think that is really up to you, and your behavior in the future." I didn't want to say anything more with Jacob standing right there, but I know she knew I meant that she needed to start treating Jacob better.

Then I squeezed myself in between the small space between her and Jacob and gave Aunt Rose a hug, well I gave her legs a hug since I was only two and a half feet tall.

"You too Jacob. You need to apologize to Aunt Rose."

He looked like I was asking him to cut his own arm off but after taking a deep breath turned to her and started talking.

"I guess Nessie's right and I owe you an apology, Blondie." Jacob spat through his teeth. I wanted to use my gift to tell him to keep going but I could barely reach up to his waist. There was no way for me to touch his cheek from down here so I settled on poking him in the leg.

"Ouch!" Jacob yelped.

Oops I guess that was too hard. But he got my point.

He sighed, understanding what I wanted. "I know you would never harm her." He stopped again, but he needed to keep going, and I poked his leg another time, lighter, but he still winced. "Sorry," he finally said. That's what I was looking for.

Why was saying he was sorry so hard? I hoped it would be a start to the two of them getting along, but Jacob looked angrier than before. I think he needed a break. "Let's get out of here for awhile. Can we go hunting?"

Jacob let out another sigh. "Sure Nessie. Whatever you want."

Good. I raised both arms so he could pick me up as he carried my outside.

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

It was Valentine's Day and there was only one person I wanted to spend the day with. Well she was the person I spent every day with.

I had been sneaking away each day for the past month while Nessie was having her daily school lessons to work on a gift for her. Each member of her family would teach her some new subject each day. This week they seemed to be focused on math. Monday it was Algebra, Tuesday was Geometry, and then today was Calculus, I think. Crazy! What was tomorrow going to be - Theoretical Physics? Her amazing mind remembered and seemed to understand everything. I really need to step up my game if I'm going to be worthy of her.

I wonder sometimes if my mind had improved from when I first became a Wolf. It would be nice to be more on Nessie's intellectual level. In addition to phasing into a giant Wolf, with freaky Wolf mind telepathy, I had gotten taller and stronger in my human form too. I think my memory was better than before also. None of the other Wolves mentioned noticing anything but there was a lot that happened over the last year to distract us. Our brains had to have changed with all of the physical changes. The Wolf telepathy proved that, right? I could now recall precise smells and forest terrains with exacting detail, which I don't think I had ever been able to do before. Not that I had spent much time focusing on that sort of thing in the past.

I had done okay in school before I had to drop out, mostly getting B's. But I hadn't been back to the local school, on the Res, in over a year, none of us had. It should be interesting to see how I do when I go back in September with the Cullens.

Shaking myself out of my own thoughts, I needed to concentrate on this last part so I wouldn't wreck it. I did not have time to start over. I wanted to give it to Nessie tonight during dinner.

I knew she was planning a special meal for me. It was cute how she wanted to surprise me and I didn't want to ruin that for her so I never let on what I suspected. I was assuming she asked Bella to cook us something. Nessie had been asking a lot of food related questions for the past couple of weeks and she barely eats, so my curiosity was peeked and I started paying more attention to all of her questions.

I think the carving was just about done. It was a bookmark. My girl was always reading so I was sure she would get a lot of use out of it. The carving was so thin and delicate I had accidently already broken three in my previous attempts since I was using such a thin piece of wood. The engraving was so deep that it looked like one of those cheap laser cuttings you can buy at any mall, but this was a lot nicer – I hoped. If you glanced at it quickly it might just look like lace but it was actually an old Quileute script.

Just as I finished Edward walked up to me. I was in the woods behind the cottage, not wanting to go too far from Nessie. School must be over for the day. He knew that I knew about Nessie's surprise dinner, but I wasn't sure why he was here now.

"She asked me to keep you away from the house while she cooks," he responded to my unspoken question.

"She's cooking, herself?" A huge smile broke out on my face. And a sense of pride filled me just to know that my little Nessie would go through so much effort just for me.

"I believe she is MY little Nessie, at least for the next few years anyway, Jacob," Edward smirked at me. He was always smirking these days. I guess that was a good sign. Better than an angry, hostile Eddie.

"Yes it is," he responded back. "But don't call me Eddie," he added with a chuckle.

"Fine, Ed . . . ward," I said, dragging out his full name. "What would you like to do until dinner is ready, then?"

"I thought we could talk about tonight. I have something planned for Bella and I could use your help."

Um gross, I may have gotten over my feelings for Bella, since I Imprinted on her daughter, but I had no desire to hear the details of what Edward had planned for the two of them tonight. I know it was Valentine's Day but - really?

"That's not what I meant, Jacob," he scowled. "I have already talked to Renesmee about this and I just wanted to let you know also. I realize you are already aware that Carlisle and Esme departed for Isle Esme three days ago. But I believe you may have missed the fact that Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie are also away for the next few days."

Really, when did that happen?

"They left last night. Bella and I will be _occupied_ at the cottage tonight, and I would appreciate it if you would keep Renesmee entertained at the main house for the next few days . . . and nights. Please watch over her, the house will be empty, except for the two of you."

Like he would even have to ask. I would be there for her, forever.

"I know you would, I just wanted to do you the courtesy of asking. And just call my cell phone if you need anything."

"Yeah, no problem." There was no way I was going anywhere near that cottage in the immediate future, I had already heard more that I had wanted to while trying to keep Nessie's nightmares away.

"I'm sorry Jacob, I didn't realize." If he could have blushed he probably would have been now. "We will try to be more considerate in the future and make other arrangements. It seems I have been too preoccupied to notice your . . . awareness."

"Yeah, well it was not something I really wanted to dwell on. You know?" I SO did not want to be having this conversation. Couldn't we all just keep pretending to _not_ acknowledge the giant elephant in the room. We all knew what everyone was doing at night, everyone knew I knew. Even Nessie knew. We're not stupid.

"Nevertheless, Bella and I will find an alternative location in the future."

"Sure, Sure." _Can we never talk about this again? Please. _

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Jacob," Edward smiled, embarrassingly.

Huh! These one way conversations with Edward were getting less and less creepy (well, maybe except this one) and turning into real time savers.

We had been walking in the woods away from the main house for awhile now and I noticed it was starting to get dark.

"If we start back now we should get there just in time for your dinner, Jacob." Edward said just before we both took off running towards the main house.

Nessie had finished cooking dinner just as we arrived.

I pretended to act surprised, since I knew she really wanted it to be that way. It made her so happy and the food smelled amazing.

"Well you two enjoy your dinner and we will see you in a few days." Edward and Bella turned and left us after hugging Nessie, and unnecessarily reminding me, again, to look after her.

After we finished eating Nessie's amazing dinner, well, I ate, Nessie just nibbled on a bite or two, I gave her my gift. She loved it just as I hoped she would.

_What does it say?_ she asked me, with her gift, shortly after unwrapping in and inspecting all of the delicate work closely. I knew she wouldn't just think it was some abstract design. Nessie was too thoughtful and considerate, not to mention unbelievable smart.

"It's Quileute. It roughly translates to 'Health and happiness in all of your days'."

_That's beautiful my Jacob. Thank you._ She removed her hand for a moment before returning it to speak again. It looked like she had been deliberating on something. _Um, Jacob . . . would you teach me Quileute sometime?_

"Really Nessie, of course." Quileute wasn't that hard to learn but it was not like any other language. I knew she had already started learning Spanish just by flipping through the channels on the TV. She'd probably pick it up in under a month, I chuckled to myself.

_What's so funny?_

"Oh, nothing Nessie. I was just thinking of how nice it is going to be to actually get to teach you something for a change."

_What are you talking about, Jacob? You teach me things all the time. You were the one to teach me how to hunt, and just last week you taught me how to swim at First Beach. _

"Nessie, I never taught you how to swim." What was she talking about?

_Yes, you did. I had never swam before that day. I learned by watching what you were doing and copying it. You have been with me every single day of my life. Have you ever seen me learn to swim?_

Damn, I messed up. "You're right. I'm sorry I should have been looking out for you better. I completely missed that you didn't know how to swim." I felt horrible. I should have known better.

_It's okay, Jacob._

"No, it's not Nessie, you could have drowned."

_How could I have drowned, silly? You never left me side, the entire day_, she chuckled. _You would never have let that happen. And I am half-Vampire, who knows if it is even possible for me to drown._

"Well let's not try and find out, okay?"

_Okay, Jacob._

"What would you like to do next?"

A smile spread across her face, and we spent the rest of the night watching movies in the living room, before falling asleep on the couch.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please review.


	5. Barbie's and Cars

**The Micro Moon**

* * *

**Year One, Chapter Five**

**Barbie's and Cars**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

A week after my Valentine's Day dinner with Nessie I had made arrangements to meet my Pack on First Beach. It was time to tell them about my upcoming move with the Cullen's. I wasn't looking forward to it but it had to be done. I had procrastinated in leaving and was now running late so in order to save time I decided to run in my Wolf form from the Cullen's house. When I arrived almost everyone was already there.

"So you finally decided to show your face around here again, sometime other than when you have to patrol. We were starting to think you ran off with you new Vampire family," Embry shouted over to me as I phased back onto two feet and jogged the rest of the way over to my Pack.

How ironic, he didn't know how right he was. I just ignored him.

"So where's Quil?" I asked no one in particular. I only wanted to have to say my news once.

Seth was the first to respond "He should be here soon, he said he was going to be bringing Claire, you know how she loves the beach."

Yeah, I know Claire is Quil's Imprint and all, but she is only three years old. This might get ugly and I don't think she should be around a bunch of Wolves if this went bad, like I assumed it might. On the other hand with her here, it might keep everyone in check. This could work out to my advantage.

"Well until then . . ." I grabbed the ball laying in the sand, one of them had brought and threw it to Embry. He must have been deep in thought or something because he didn't see the ball and it hit him square in the head.

"Ouch!" What the . . ." he looked around, rather angrily, until his eyes landed on me.

"Calm down, Embry," I said trying to laugh it off, "I just wanted to get a game started while we waited for Quil. It's not my fault if you're out of it over there. It was kinda funny though. Lighten up!" I started laughing louder.

"Well I don't think it's funny," he seethed, while coming over to where I was, getting right into my face. The fact that he had retrieved the ball, on the way, and was now squeezing it so hard it started to deflate in his hands was one thing. The fact that he was also growling at me was another.

"Do we have a problem?" I growled right back. I wasn't sure what it was but I wasn't about to back down from him. I might be here to tell him that I was leaving but I was still technically the Pack's Alpha. What he was doing was completely out of line.

"Come on guys, don't fight," Seth broke in. "Let's just go for a swim or something," he said as he ran towards the water. Leah followed close behind. It didn't seem like Embry would go for that either, but instead mumbled an apology to me before slumping down on a log.

Whatever. If he wanted to mope around instead of telling me what was up I wasn't about to force him. He could let me know what was wrong when he was ready.

Leah, Seth, and I were still joking around by the water trying to throw each other in, fifteen minutes later when Quil and Claire finally arrived.

"Hey, Jake, sorry we're late, Claire had an accident and I needed to turn back and change her," he whisper an apology to me once we all had gathered by Embry who was still making sure that same piece of driftwood didn't go floating off somewhere.

"No problem man, I remember going through that with Nessie." In truth I didn't, Nessie managed to potty train herself in one day when she was a couple of weeks old, but there was no need to make him feel bad.

"So guys, . . . and Leah," I amended as to not set her off, at least not yet, "you're probably all wondering why I wanted to talk to you. Let's um . . .let's go sit down over here," I said while gesturing towards Embry and the gathering of driftwood logs, "so we can all talk together."

"Well, this ought to be good, Black," Leah sneered, probably catching on that this wasn't going to be another ordinary Pack meeting.

"You're running off with the Cullen's, aren't you? I knew it. It was only a matter of time before they took you away from us," Embry shouted, getting more and more upset. He had to get up and started stomping around to contain his anger. If he kept it up he was going to lose it and phase.

Quil instinctively got up, wrapped his arms around Claire and moved them back a few feet, out of immediate danger..

"Well it was fun while it lasted. Guess we'll have to go back to Sam's Pack." Seth added.

"Guys, calm down." I shouted over the grumbling they were making "Look, if I had Imprinted on a regular, human girl, I would eventually give up being a Wolf to age with her, my moving away to be with Nessie isn't really that different." I growled at them and so did several others in my Pack back at me. I needed to regain control of things. "Yes," I let out a deep breath to help me relax, phasing and fighting were not going to help. And Claire was here. "It's true. I will be leaving with the Cullen's when they move in September, but we are not going that far. Just over one hundred miles, to the other side of the Olympic National Forest. You know that means that I will still be in communication range in Wolf form. We can stay a Pack; that is, if you want. But if you wanted to rejoin Sam's Pack I won't stop you."

"We don't have to come with you if we want to stay in your Pack, do we?" Quil asked. He pulled Claire ever so slightly closer. I could understand what he was thinking. The whole reason I was leaving was to stay with Nessie.

"No, I'm the only one going. All of you'll stay here whether you remain in my Pack or rejoin Sam's." Then a thought occurred to me. "Well, I guess you could come if you wanted to. I could talk to Carlisle and work something out."

Everyone just looked around at each other, shaking their heads, and I was left with the definite impression that no one was interested in that idea. "Okay, so never mind. But you're always welcome if you change your mind." Better to leave things open, anyway.

"And just how are you supposed to lead us from so far away? We'll never see you. Not that we ever really see you now, but what if there's trouble?" Embry questioned. I know he was pissed off before but he seemed angrier than I thought he should be. He was one of my best friends and I know I was moving away. It's not like I expected him to be happy for me, but his reaction was a little over the top. Actually his whole attitude today was off.

"That's exactly why the Cullens are leaving, to keep any more curious or nomadic Vampires from seeking them out and coming here. They're trying to protect people. And you know if there's ever a problem, and you need me, you can always call my cell, to get in touch when I'm not a Wolf."

"I guess that this means that with no Vampires permanently nearby no new Quileute's will be phasing; we're the last of the Wolves," Seth added in. He seemed strangely sad that there won't be more Wolves.

"Yeah Seth, that's the Cullen's theory, too." I turned to speak directly to Leah now, "There is one other thing, Leah, as my second, everyone will be looking more to you now to guide them. Do you think you can handle these three hoodlums?" I joked.

"Not a problem, I'll make sure everyone stays in line."

"Good, but that's the easy part I'm afraid. You're also going to have to be the one to coordinate the patrolling schedules and everything else with Sam and his Pack."

Even though she was probably well aware of this, having me say it out loud made it more of a reality and her, up until now, attitude about the whole move, darkened considerably.

"Yeah, well as long as he's not in my head anymore I'm sure I'll be alright."

"You sure?" This was all seeming too easy.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll call you if I actually have a problem."

"So are we going to be expected to keep up the same levels of patrolling now that were going to be a man down once you leave?" Quil asked.

"No, I still need to talk to Sam about this but the patrolling range needs to shrink a bit. Starting when I leave, in September. You'll still need to continue to stay on our side of the treaty lines around the Cullen's home but should no longer go past the midsection of the Olympic National Forest. "

"What! Why?" Seth and Embry wondered at the same time .

"The Cullen's don't want anyone following us. When we leave we will only be traveling by car, no running. We don't want to leave a scent trail. If the Wolf Packs cross the lines other Vampires might follow. The Cullen's and I will patrol the edge of the other side of the Olympic National Forest and it's best if you just avoid the Cullen's current residences. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good, I'm going to talk to Sam about this too, before I leave."

"So, on to important business then. We need to have like the biggest, best bonfire sometime before you leave for good," Seth suggested.

"Awesome idea, man," Quil agreed.

"Sure, sure. But it's not for good, I will be back eventually, now and then, at least. You guys set it up and just let me know when, so I can get someone from Sam's Pack to chaperone my dangerous and ferocious Imprint." I chuckled .

They all joined in my laughter, except Leah, she never did, but everyone knew it was ridiculous, Nessie would never harm anyone.

"What does ferocious mean, Quil?" Claire asked him.

"It's where something is scary, but Jake was just kidding, Nessie isn't scary. She's a little girl like you."

"Can she come play with me?"

"What do you think Jake, would Nessie be interested in a play date?" Quil asked me.

I was glad he didn't see Nessie as a threat the way his grandfather did.

Good question, though. She looked like she was the same age as Claire, but we all knew she was way past three years old intellectually. Would she be bored hanging out with an actual child, who was so much younger than her mentally? Hell, she would probably be bored hanging out with me, if I followed that reasoning. She was already smarter than me or anyone I knew. Well anyone who wasn't a Vampire, anyway. It would probably be good for her to interact with other kids.

"I'll ask, when I go back there later, okay kid?" I said with a smile, getting down to look her in the eye.

* * *

Of course I had nothing to worry about. Nessie was so excited to meet Claire and even decided to try and pretend to act like a normal three year old girl, for the day. She told me she wanted to make it an experiment and see how closely she could resemble a young human child. I thought it was a good idea, even pretending to be a kid would be good for her and would keep her entertained by the play activities Claire would want to do.

And it would make it much more fun for Claire too, to have someone to play with at her own (height) level. Quil was great with her, but he was a 17 year old guy. The Imprinting ensured that he would be a great playmate, but I had a feeling it just wasn't the same as playing with another little kid.

Two days later we had made arrangements to meet at Quil's, of course accompanied by a member of Sam's Pack. When we arrived at the treaty line I was surprised to see Sam there waiting for us, I assumed he would send one of the guys.

"Sam, hey. What are you doing here?"

"I thought it would be good to meet your Imprint myself, since she is the one causing all of this . . ."

"Hey, this isn't our fault, it was the councils idea. And I don't see it as that big of an inconvenience." What was his problem ?

"Whatever, so what exactly are you and your Imprint planning on doing here today?"

"Her name is Nessie, and she is right here," I said, gesturing to her sitting in the front seat of my truck; right next to me. "You could be polite and say 'hi'." I was getting irritated, he didn't need to be rude.

"Hello Renesmee," he huffed to her and then turned back to me. "You still haven't said what your plans were for today."

"Oh, we gave a thrilling day planned." He was going to just hate this, I snickered to myself.

Nessie was holding my hand, but let it go to quickly scratch my cheek, discreetly using her gift to show me that she wanted to have a little fun with Sam. _Just go with it_, she thought to me. "I'm going to play Barbie's!" Nessie cooed so cutely as she started bouncing up and down in her seat like a real little kid.

"Huh? Barbie's, really?" Sam looked skeptical.

"Yeah, we're meeting Quil and Claire. Claire promised to bring some of her dolls to share with Nessie. What did you think we would be doing?" Okay, so it wasn't typical Nessie behavior, but Sam didn't know that, even if he did suspect, and it was just too funny.

We spent the rest of the day playing Barbie's, braiding the girls hair, and watching cartoons. Claire, at least, had a wonderful time and Quil kept thanking me over and over for making the day so special for Claire. He knew Nessie was acting for Claire's benefit, but never said a word. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but as long as everyone was happy then whatever.

At some point in the day Sam even started being nice to Nessie and treating her like the normal little girl she was pretending to be, what he now considered her to be. I know it was because we had kinda tricked Sam, but I didn't see any harm in it. Besides Nessie came up with the idea for Claire's benefit long before we knew Sam would be joining us.

When we arrived back at the cottage Nessie ran through the day's events for Bella using her gift, while Edward was able to see it in her mind as she showed Bella.

"I hope your little trick doesn't end up coming back to bite us later," Bella said to us.

"Oh, come on Bells, what harm was done by making a little girl happy?'

"That's not what I meant Jake, and you know it!"

* * *

The next day Nessie and I went back to La Push to visit my dad and hopefully give my Rabbit a much needed oil change.

Since we were going to my dad's I assumed we would be accompanied by Paul. He was always there anyways visiting my sister (and his Imprint) Rachel.

I was surprised to see Jared waiting for us at the border. Unlike Paul and Sam, he seemed happy to be there.

"Jake, man, long time, no see. Hi there Nessie. Jake being good to you? . . . Err, I'm Jared, do you remember me? It's been awhile since I've seen you, you've grown so much, I can't believe it. Wow, how old are you now?" Jared rambled on and on.

Nessie just stared at him and started chuckling, waiting for him to finish.

"Hello, Jared. It's nice to see you again; I currently have the appearance of a three year old." Nessie was always so eloquent. "Will you be spending the day with us?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so." He replied then turned to me. "So we're are we headed?"

"Just over to my dad's place. We might not even need you today. Paul's probably there already with Rachel."

"Nope, that's why I'm here, Jake. Rachel had some doctors appointment and Paul offered to take her."

"Oh, I guess I've been out of the loop on things since I've been staying with the Cullens."

Just then Nessie grabbed my cheek to use her gift. _My Jacob, I'm so sorry I've kept you from your real family. Please forgive me? _It looked like she was going to cry.

"Nessie, you have not kept me from my family, you are my family just as much as they are. I chose to be with you."

As we pulled up to the house I grabbed Nessie and pulled her into a hug.

"I know it's not long, but do you want to stay with your dad and sister until we leave in September? You won't be seeing them much after that."

She was so sweet and thoughtful. Not only because she didn't want to take me away from my family but because she really wanted to use her gift to talk to me. I could tell just by the way she was holding her hands, reminding herself that she had to speak out loud while she was here.

"Nessie, I could never be away from you that long."

"So let me stay here with you."

"As much as I would love that, I'm afraid, you can't. You know your family aren't allowed on the Reservation. You wouldn't be able to see them everyday like you do now, and they would never agree to that."

Her fingers twitched, but she ended up speaking, even though her voice was shaky. "I'm taking you away from your family, possibly for the rest of your life. I am sure they can survive the next seven months without me, and I will be fine as long as I'm with you."

"It might not be that easy for you, Nessie. And we would have to get a lot of people to agree to it."

"So, let's start asking for permission." She seemed so optimistic.

"We can ask, but I'm not making any promises." Nessie was right though. I would like to spend as much time as I could with my dad, before we left.

"That's all I ask," she said with a smug look on her face, like her just having me agree to the possibility of something made it real.

I don't think Bella and Edward would so easily agree to my taking her away from them for that long. It would be the equivalent of 3 or 4 years of a normal child's growth. I would take away their toddler and return with a six to seven year old.

I was even less convinced that the Tribal Elders would allow her to remain on the Reservation that long. But I couldn't say no to Nessie, so I at least had to ask, later.

For today we ended up spending the beginning of the day hanging out with my dad in his house. Jared planted himself on the couch and watched TV the entire time we were there.

Nessie being the wonderful soul that she was wanted to be nice and made everyone a lunch of pasta and chicken cutlets from stuff she found in the kitchen. My dad seemed a little worried when she carried one of the kitchen chairs over to the stove, but after the Valentine's day dinner she cooked me I knew she could handle it.

While she was busy setting the table I snuck in and quickly mixed up some scrambled eggs for her, knowing she would prefer them.

After finishing lunch and catching up with my dad Nessie and I headed to the garage.

"Jacob, can you teach me about cars?" She asked with only a small hand movement. That would not have happened, even yesterday.

I was amazed. Even though it had only been a few times that I had brought her to La Push, where she was forced to talk, it really seemed to be helping her get more comfortable communicating without using her gift. The difference was noticeable even from this morning. She still had to hold her hand, or draw it back when she went to tell me something, but it was getting better.

"You want to learn about this stuff?" I questioned.

"You seem to enjoy it so much, I bet it is fascinating." That was so sweet of her. I wondered if she was really interested in it or just wanted to learn because I liked it? Either way it meant I could spend even more time with my angel.

We spent the next few hours going over the names and purposes of all of my tools, and some of the engine parts. There was a lot more I could teach her but that was enough for one day.

"Ok, Nessie, I think we need to stop for today. I really need to change the Rabbit's oil before I drive her again."

"No problem, my Jacob. Can I do it? I'm sure I would be able to if you just talked me through it."

"I thought you might say that," I replied handing her a pan for the oil to drip in. I gave her a quick run through of everything she would need to do. She was such a fast learner that that was probably all she needed to do the whole thing on her own. Since she was so small she was able to crawl under the car, without me having to lift it up, and began just before Sam walked it.

"Hey, Jake. Where's little Nessie. I thought she was scheduled to be here today. I brought her something." He waved a frilly pink doll at me.

"Oh, she is, . . . she's, um. . . helping me today."

"Hello Sam," Nessie called from under the car. "I will be out presently."

Sam shot me a confused look, but I just shrugged. Busted.

Two seconds later Nessie emerged with the tray full of used oil, poured it into a second container, and then climbed onto the hood to pour in the new oil.

Sam looked dumbfounded standing there, with the doll still in his hand, then his face changed to anger.

"What is going on here?" he questioned both of us.

"Jacob has been teaching me about cars and he most recently just finished instructing me on how to complete an oil change. I believe I completed it correctly. I'm sorry we mislead you the other day, we were just trying to make Claire feel more comfortable and I'm afraid I got carried away. Please don't be angry with my Jacob. It's my fault."

"No Nessie, it's not, it's mine."

"I don't care," Sam sputtered, throwing the doll on the floor and turning to me. "Deceiving people, for whatever reason is just the beginning, who knows what else she has done, or will do. It's just like I thought, she's a Vampire and is not to be trusted. She should never have been allowed to come here."

"Calm down Sam." He was working hard to not phase right in the middle of the garage. He knew he couldn't hurt my Imprint, but knowing he wasn't supposed to do something and not doing it were two different things. Accidents happen.

I wanted to put some distance between Nessie and Sam but she had other ideas. Before I could stop her Nessie had sidestepped me and was reaching for Sam.

NO!

In one swift motion she dashed over to Sam, grabbed his arm, yanking him down to her level, and placed her hand on his cheek. She must have been showing him something, I'm not sure what but he quickly stopped shaking and calmed down. As a slight smile appeared on his face I let out a sigh of relief.

"Renesmee, please accept my apology. It's my job to protect the tribe and I take it very seriously. Sometimes I can be a little . . . narrow minded and stubborn."

That's it? Everything's okay now? Hmmm, I'll have to ask her later what exactly she showed him.


	6. The Agreement and Charlie

**The Micro Moon**

* * *

**Year One, Chapter Six**

**The Agreement and Charlie**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

As Jacob and I made our way home from La Push I started planning my rationale, to my parents, on why I should be allowed to stay with Jacob on the La Push Reservation until we move away in September. Jacob parked the Rabbit at the main house and we ran to the cottage, well he ran and gave me a piggy back ride. It was so much fun, being so high up, sitting on his shoulders.

Just as we were approaching the front door it opened and my mother and father greeted us. Okay, _greeted_ wasn't the right word. That would imply my father was in a good mood and happy to see us. While his face was blank, not hinting at the anger the tone of his voice betrayed.

"No! Absolutely not. Jacob, you are not taking our daughter away from us." The happy chipper his voice normally held, when he talked to me, was still missing.

"What's going on?" my mother asked, as she turned to my father. She look confused instead of mad so he must not have told her, yet.

"I think I will leave that up to you, Renesmee," he said, as he directed us into the cottage living room.

Swinging around from my piggyback position on Jacobs back I easily landed on his lap just as he sat us down on the couch. For a fraction of a second I thought I saw my father scowling. Not at me, that was something he had never done before, he was looking at my Jacob. As soon as my father registered that I had seen this he immediately rearranged his face to his previous blank expression. I had never seen him look at Jacob with anger before. I didn't like it and wished I was sitting on my mother's lap so I could bury myself in her hair, instead Jacob knew what I needed and wrapped me in his arms. It was just as comforting.

My father continued to stare at Jacob, as he sat himself in the chair next to my mother, who looked back at him, probably waiting for an explanation as to what was going on, while she in turn sat on the opposite end of the couch that we were on. Jacob continued to hold me in his arms but after another minute of no one talking I came out of my hiding spot just enough to lean over to my mother, place my hand on her cheek, and show her a replay of the conversation Jacob and I had earlier. She did not look happy when I finished.

"This seems a little extreme, Jake. You can go back and forth between here and La Push whenever you want. It's a twenty minute car ride, even faster if you run, why do you feel the need to take our daughter away from us?" my mother asked.

"I'm not trying to take Nessie away from you, Bells. I would never do that. You're her family, I know that."

"Momma, Daddy," that got them to lose some of their anger, "this is not fair to my Jacob, can't you see that. We are going to be taking him away from his family, possibly forever, very soon. He deserves this last chance to be with them."

"We know that sweetheart, no one wants to hurt Jake."

"It's his choice, he doesn't have to come with us if he does not want to," my father curtly added after my mother's statement.

_He does not have a choice. He Imprinted on me. You can see into my head, you know how much it hurts when we are away from each other, do you want to be responsible for that pain? _I mentally argued to my father.

"What about another solution," my mother offered. "Couldn't we try talking to the Tribal Council and see if we could change the treaty so that we would be allowed to come and go from La Push as we please. They know us well enough to know we aren't a danger."

"I'm not sure if that would work, it was hard enough just getting them to agree to let Nessie come with me during the day when we have a chaperone." Jacob had a point, maybe this won't work at all. But we had to try, for him.

"Could we just talk to the council and see what they say?" I offered.

"I think you are getting ahead of yourself Renesmee," my father reminded me. "Your mother and I have not agreed to this, yet."

Yet? That means they will be agreeing at some point in the future. I started smiling until I saw the sad look on my father's face.

"The Elders might not be a problem, but Sam is still an obstacle. He's having enough problems with Nessie there as it is. He needs something -"

"How do you think he feels?" my father cut Jacob off before he could finish. "The three Elders are all the parents or grandparents to every member of _your_ Pack, Jacob. Sam has no familial representative on the Council and he is only an Alpha Wolf simply by default of being the first to phase. We need to be respectful of his feelings.

"Think of what he has been through since becoming a Wolf. He phased first, before every other Wolf. He had no one to help him, guide him, even explain to him what was going on. He had to figure out everything on his own, right down to how to phase back to human form, the very first time. Then he Imprinted on someone other than his fiancée, having to break her heart, and literally hurt his Imprint."

Sam has had it very rough. "I guess I never thought of it that way." I said.

"Edward, not to get off subject but did you say that EVERY member of my Pack was directly related to a member of the council?" Jacob asked my father. Where was he going with this?

"You caught that, did you?" he replied. "Yes, Embry is the biological son of Quil Ateara V making him Quil's half-brother. But that is probably not information that should be shared."

"Are you kidding me Edward! How do you expect me to keep that from them the next time I phase? Our minds are like open books when we are Wolves."

"Relax, Jacob. I did not mean for you to keep it from them. Of course you should enlighten your Pack. As you are aware, most already suspect it. I do not see how informing them would do any harm. I would however recommend against informing the entire tribe. If Quil and Embry choose to take it further it is on them, though."

"Just how long have you known about his, Edward?" Jacob asked.

"I learned about it after the fight with Victoria, when I assisted Carlisle in your recovery. If I had not gone to the Reservation that day I probably never would have heard Old Quil reflect upon it. It was your injury that seemed to get him thinking about how it could have been one of his own grandchildren that could have been hurt. His son must have divulged the information to him at some point before he left. There was so much that was going on back then that I did not feel it was the right time to bring it up."

"And there wasn't any point in the past two years that you thought might have been a good time?"

"Jacob, I do not wish to upset anyone. But I do see how decimated Sam's confidence is in his own standing among the tribal Elders, since your break from his Pack. Although he is unsure of Embry's lineage, he does suspect it. And he is of course aware of Seth and Leah, and Quil and yourself being directly related to the entire council. I am concerned that he feels that everyone is against him and his leadership simply by his . . . oh how should I put this. . . his lower birth status. It is not true of course, but it is how he sees it. Not a single member of his remaining Pack has a direct relation on the council and that worries him. From what I can gather I believe he has nothing to worry about, but I doubt he would listen to me."

"That's ridiculous, he's the Tribes Chief, sort of. Well, you know, if we still had Chiefs. He knows that. I have never tried to take that away from him, and have no desire to. I even included him in the discussion to let Nessie come on the Res."

"But he was kept out of the final decision."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jacob relented.

"Not that this isn't fascinating, but can we get back to the matter at hand," my mother interjected. She started talking to Jacob and my father, switching back and forth between the two. "I agree with you Jake, that it is unfair of us to take you away from your family, and that IS what we are doing Edward," she added looking directly at my father. "We should give Jake a chance to spend this time with Billy." I started grinning, along with Jacob. "Don't get too excited you two. I am not willing to give up my daughter for that long, Jake. I understand you cannot be away from Renesmee for that long, but neither can I."

My father spoke up next. "Jacob, can you set up a meeting for us with the Tribal council, and Sam, so we can all sit down and work something out? I am not going to allow you take Renesmee away from us for seven months, but I am sure some compromise can be arranged."

In the end somehow an agreement was reached that everyone was willing to live with. Well sort of, they had at least agreed to it anyway. Jacob and I would stay on the Reservation during the week, returning to my family on the weekends, for one month. Then the next month it would alternate, going back and forth until we left for good in September.

I still needed a chaperone, someone from Sam's Pack, anytime I was not at Billy's house. But that was the reason we were going there. And my being next to Jacob was the only place I really wanted to be, so it didn't really matter to us that much.

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

Yesterday was grueling. Not physically, but still . . . sitting in Bella's father, Charlie's living room for five hours – _neutral territory_ Sue had called it, when she had suggested it for the meeting, to see if Nessie could stay with me for an extended period of time in the Reservation, before I left with the Cullens in September. Charlie would be at work most of the day, and the house would be empty. La Push was out of the question, for obvious reasons, and Old Quil did not feel comfortable going to the Cullens. Charlie seemed so happy since he started dating Sue that he didn't even ask what the meeting was about when she asked him to use his house. Then again it could be all part of his "need to know" happy oblivion he was living in regarding anything of the supernatural variety.

Anyway that was yesterday. Today I just wanted to spend the day with Nessie and relax. We were headed over to the Cullen's main house, with Bella and Edward. Charlie, was coming over to visit his daughter. I think he had figured out that Nessie was his real granddaughter and not really Edwards niece that he and Bella adopted, like they originally told him. But neither he, nor anyone else said anything, so I was not about to bring it up, again preferring his "need to know" approach. I just wondered how he rationalized Nessie's rapid growth? I guess it didn't really matter though. He loved Nessie and that was all that mattered . . . to me at least.

We all gathered in the living room to wait for Charlie. Everyone had dropped their human façade around him a while ago so no one felt the need to pretend today. Nessie was playing a game of chess with Jasper, with Emmett looking on. I heard him make a bet with Jasper, thinking maybe today was the day Nessie would win. As I looked around the rest of the room I saw that Alice and Esme had their laptops out and were working on designs and furniture for the new house Esme had found for us. Edward was on the other side of the room teaching Bella how to play the piano, she had just started the other day and already sounded pretty impressive to me. Carlisle, as usual, was nose deep in some medical book. Luckily I didn't see Blondie anywhere and really couldn't care where she was. But if she did show up I had a few new dumb blonde jokes ready to go.

In the meantime I dropped into a chair in front of the TV. The Cullens got every single channel available, so there was bound to be something on I liked.

Half an hour later Charlie arrived.

Just before he even knocked on the front door Bella blurred past everyone to let him in. In an instant she was down at the front door but remembered to wait a minute so she didn't freak out her dad by appearing so fast. Charlie had been coming by once every week or two to visit, but since we had made the decision to leave, Bella was going a little nuts, in my opinion. It was as if she was trying to fit in a lifetime of memories with him, into each of his visits. I knew how she felt, I already missed my dad. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward wince a little to himself. I guess he didn't care for what I was thinking. He didn't like anything that upset Bella, but he must have known before, I thought of it, that she would be upset leaving her father.

"Grampy," Nessie exclaimed, as she got up and ran to him just as he made his way up the stairs to where we were.

After Nessie quickly hugged him she ran over to me and grabbed my cheek. _Jacob we need to go hunting. _

"But Nessie, Charlie just got here don't you want to spend some time with him?"

"Jacob, take Renesmee now," Edward practically shouted over to me, his eyes were wide and he was gesturing with his head towards the back door.

What's wrong with him? But when I turned back to Nessie I got my answer. She _needed_ to hunt, NOW! "Oh," CRAP! "Yeah, let's go." Without another word we ran out the back door. Jasper was right behind us. That made sense, he probably picked up on Nessie's desire for blood and became overwhelmed himself.

Nessie and Jasper broke off towards the West at full speed. I needed to undress before I phased, so as soon as I hit the cover of the forest, after they were out of sight, I stripped as quickly as I could, then phased. I was easily able to follower their scents and caught up to them quickly, since Wolves are faster than Vamps, and Nessie, being only half, and added to that, still a child, was even slower. About a third of the way into the Olympic National Forest we spotted a herd of deer. Perfect!

Nessie, still being so young, was too small to completely take down her prey all by herself but while Jasper nabbed a larger buck on his left, I cornered one to the right to let Nessie easily go in for the kill. We had become the perfect team over the months. I was so proud of her.

While Nessie was feeding I phased back and pulled on my shorts. The rest of my clothes were somewhere, scattered around the Cullen's backyard; I would have to find them before we went back into the house. Charlie was bound to have enough questions about our sudden departure, returning without my clothes didn't need to be one of them. He was okay knowing I was a Wolf, sort of. I think learning his granddaughter almost ate him would probably push him over the edge.

"Oh, my Jacob," Nessie cried, rushing over to me when she was done drinking. I bent down and I scooped her little body up easily in my arms. _What did I almost do? "_How could I have let that happen? I've never lost control._" I came so close today. What is wrong with me?_ Nessie sobbed uncontrollably in my arms, while she switched between using her gift and talking out loud.

"It's okay, Nessie. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't hurt him. You were perfect, you ARE perfect. As soon as you thought you might have a problem you let me know we needed to leave. That's exactly what you should have done."

"But why did that happen?" _I've always been able to control my thirst._ she asked, continuing to switch between talking and using her gift, as her sobs escalated.

"I think I might have an answer for you Renesmee," Jasper offered. He was larger than Nessie, of course, and needed to feed on at least one more deer if he was going to be able to return while Charlie was still at the Cullen's, so he was just getting to us now. "I overheard your conversation with Edward and Carlisle regarding your feeding schedule last month. Am I correct in assuming that you have begun to lengthen the intervals between hunts due to your declining growth rate?"

That was true, Nessie had been hunting once a week, but since she was not growing so fast anymore, (she was still growing super fast compared to a regular human), Edward and Carlisle had talked to Nessie and me about cutting back. They figured she would not need as much blood, I think this might prove differently.

"Yeah, we've only gone hunting once every 10 days, for the past few weeks," I answered for her. She was still sobbing and I don't think she could answer even if she wanted to.

"Well, I believe that this would suggest we reevaluate that theory. It seems Renesmee requires a more regular blood supply if she would like to remain vegetarian."

Duh! No kidding. "Yeah, I don't think anyone would disagree with you." I then turned my attention to the little angel in my arms. "Nessie how are you feeling? Did you hear Jasper? This wasn't your fault. Do you hear me? We just need to make sure you hunt more often. Everything will be fine, no harm done." I smiled at her. Please be okay. It killed me to see her cry.

"I'm," sniff, . . . "okay," sniff, . . . "my," sniff, . . . "Jacob."

"Renesmee, look at me. You know I would never let you hurt Charlie. But you didn't even need me to. You are so strong, and now that we know what the problem is, we can easily fix it, right?"

"Right?" she answered, but it came out more like a question.

"You love Charlie, right?"

_Yes, of course._

"And you would never hurt him, right?"

_Of course not._

"Then there is nothing to worry about. We are a team, and I will always have your back. But you didn't even need it, I am so proud of you."

_Really, you're not mad at me?_

"Why would you think I would be mad at you?"

She looked nervous and pulled her hand away.

"You know you can tell me anything Nessie, it will be okay," I assured her.

She didn't raise her hand to use her gift again, but spoke, "Because you are a Werewolf. You exist solely to kill those that behave like I almost did. How could you not hate me?"

"Nessie, I love you, I could never hate you. No one can be perfect all the time, but you try so hard. You only think of others, you are so good. Just because you ALMOST slipped doesn't mean I could ever hate you. And even if, someday, you do slip I would still love you. This was not your fault."

She stopped crying and I finally saw a slight smile on my angels face. "You mean it?"

"Of course I do. Now do you think you're ready to go back? Charlie is probably still there and I bet he wants to see his favorite granddaughter."

"I'm his only granddaughter, silly," she chuckled to me.

I love her laugh. I could listen to it forever, and if I was lucky enough, I would.

When we arrived back at the Cullen's I quickly redressed; someone had found the rest of my clothes and placed them by a tree close to where we entered the forest. They smelled sickeningly sweet now, but I would just have to deal.

Nessie, (and Jasper) now well fed, had no problem being around Charlie and the rest of his visit went well. He was amazed by Bella's progress on the piano, especially since she had shown no sign of musical ability before and had seemingly picked it up easily. It was funny how he kept muttering to himself "need to know, need to know" over and over again while he watched Bella and Nessie play a piece that, I think, Edward had written. It was beautiful and Nessie did a wonderful job. She was so talented.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please review.


	7. Quileute & Bonfires

**The Micro Moon**

* * *

**Year One, Chapter Seven**

**Quileute & ****Bonfires**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

In a few days it would be Monday, and the first day Jacob and I were going to start staying with Billy on the Quileute Reservation. My mother and I grabbed the four suitcases and three bags of clothes that Aunt Alice had packed for me. I was only going to be gone for five days and was already dressed for today. How many clothes did she think I would need? And where was I going to put them all?

Oh well. It was just easier to go along with Aunt Alice in matters such as this, than try and reason with her. I had already learned that lesson. Maybe I will just keep these clothes at Billy's, if there was room for them. Jacob's room was barely big enough to house his minuscule collection of clothes. I was not sure where I was going to put everything. I'll just have to figure something out when I get there.

The look on Jacob's face when my mother and I walked over to his car caring everything was priceless. I assume he was thinking the same thing I had been.

"Alice?" he questioned.

"Who else?" I answered, as he started putting the bags in his Rabbit.

Just then the remained of my family emerged from the house to say goodbye to us. I was instantly engulfed in a massive group hug.

"Guys, I'm only going to be at the Reservation for less than a week. You will have me back this Friday night, and I can meet you at the border whenever you wish. You're squishing me," I laughed.

"We know Renesmee, but we have never had you away from us for that long. We're going to miss you," my father told me. He was trying to seem cheerful, but I could tell how sad he really was. I was going to miss my family as well, but I needed to do this for my Jacob. I also knew it would be good for me to get away, even temporarily, and I _was_ looking forward to seeing how others lived.

Soon enough my family released me, said their goodbyes, and Jacob and I were off towards Billy's.

As we pulled up to the house we were surprised by the sight that met us. Billy's home looked like it has been on one of those home makeover shows. The roof no longer had a tarp on it and had been replaced by a brand new one, there was also a new coat of paint on the outside and the rickety old wheelchair ramp Jacob had built, when he was younger, had been replaced.

"Did you know about this?" Jacob turned and asked me.

"No, but what would you expect from my family. They have been wanting to do this for awhile now. My coming here was the perfect excuse." If this was the outside what did the inside look like?

"I wonder how and when they got permission to even come here to do all of this. And why no one told us."

The inside of Billy's house had been renovated just as the outside. The floors had been refinished, the walls painted, new furniture replaced the broken ones, a huge new flat screen hung on the wall across from the new couch where Billy currently sat.

"Hi kids," he smiled up at us, while glancing briefly from a football game on the TV. "So what do you think?"

"Um, it's nice. You let the Cullens do all of this?"

"Bella and Edward took me aside, along with Old Quil, Sue, and Sam, after your left the meeting about Nessie staying here. We worked out the details so they could come here and fix up the place for her. It was a onetime deal. I never dreamed they would do so much, we only agreed to let them on the Res for one day."

"They work fast." Jacob told his father.

"Yeah, they did a ton of stuff, fixed everything." I could smell the fresh paint, sawdust, wood glue and a host of other aromas that still lingered in the air. "Most of the furniture and your clothes arrived yesterday, though. It was delivered in the morning and Sam's Pack set it all up. Rachel put your clothes away but you'll probably want to reorganize them. There's a note from Alice that mentioned an extra dresser for Nessie, too."

"Sure, sure."

I was amazed, even with Vampire speed it looked like a lot of work for only one day.

"You've barely seen anything," Billy continued. "Keep going," he waved his arm to the back of the house, "they replaced all of the appliances in the kitchen, and the washer and dryer, and even added a dishwasher. We even have a new water heater and furnace. Everything's now wheelchair accessible too, including my bathroom."

"Your bathroom? We only have the one, dad."

"Not anymore, son. We all have our own. I guess you didn't notice from the front, but the house is a lot bigger now. The Cullens turned your room into a bathroom for Rachel and they added an addition onto the back of the house, you have a new bedroom and bathroom. There's a Queen size bed in there for you, too." Billy told us. "I guess they don't want their precious daughter to be cramped," he added under his breath.

"And you are okay with all of this?" Jacob questioned, ignoring his father's end remark, seemingly too shocked with all of the changes, or possibly Billy's approval of them . . . or both. I wasn't sure.

I could see why Jacob was worried. Billy was a very proud man and was not one to accept charity.

"Sure, as far as I am concerned they can come here anytime," Billy assured his son.

"Really, I didn't think you felt that way," Jacob looked puzzled and seemed to disbelieve his father.

I pulled Jacob down so I could use my gift and talk to him without Billy hearing me. _My Jacob, please don't be upset? We owe Billy so much more than this. We are taking you, his only son from him, and the only thing we can do, to even begin to compensate him for it is some paint and furniture. We owe him so much more, you are worth so much more. Don't you see that? We could never do enough for Billy, this doesn't even come close to what you are worth. Don't you know how valuable you are, how loved you are? Please, never forget that. _

I am not sure if I helped but Jacob smiled at me and didn't question his father further. We went on a tour of the rest of the house. It was just as nice as Billy had said, also the kitchen, and a new pantry, had been fully stocked with food, and Jacob had a new closet full of clothes.

In the back of his room I found a long empty dresser, perfect for my height. "So, I assume this is the dresser Aunt Alice mentioned in her note, where all of the clothes she packed for me are suppose to go." I started chuckling to myself.

"I wonder why she just didn't have all of the clothes waiting here for you already, like she did mine?"

"Why does Aunt Alice do anything? I am sure she has her reasons though." When I thought about it, it did make sense. "She probably wanted to make everything here a surprise and if she didn't let me bring any clothes, with me, I would know there was something suspicious going on."

We both started laughing at how ridiculously extreme this all was.

"I should probably call the Cullens and thank them, before we do anything else."

"Alright, Jacob, I am going to put my clothes away while you do that."

When we both were done he asked me what I wanted to do on my first day here.

_Do you remember what you promised me, Jacob?_ He seemed confused so I continued. _Will you still teach me to speak Quileute?_

"Of course Nessie. But you have to talk if you want to learn properly," he smirked. Oh right. "Did you want to start right now? I could run down to the school and ask to borrow some early readers that they use to teach the Res kids with?"

"I don't think that will be necessary Jacob." I said out loud. "Are you forgetting," I pointed to my head, "super Vampire brain. Would it be inappropriate of me to ask if you and Billy could just speak nothing but Quileute for a little while so I can pick it up?"

He looked bewildered. I was not sure why. I thought he knew how I learned Spanish, by just watching people speak it on the television. Maybe I had offended him somehow.

"I'm sorry. Never mind Jacob. We can do something else."

"No Nessie, I told you I would teach you to speak Quileute, I just didn't realize it would be that easy. It's my fault, you seem so human sometimes, I forget you're half-Vampire. Well, let's go see if Billy is game." He took my hand and led me into the living room.

Jacob explained everything to Billy, who said he had no problem with my request, he just asked to finish watching the game first, so Jacob thought it might be good to start me off with some nouns and we proceeded to walk around the house while he named everything in sight.

Over the next few days Billy and Jacob spoke nothing but Quileute and by Friday the three of us were able to converse entirely in it.

"Okay, kids, that's it, I'm done, I think we can all switch back to English. This has been fun, and Renesmee you are remarkable, but I need to start preparing for the council meeting tonight. You kids are coming, right? There will be a huge bonfire on the beach."

"What's the meeting for?" Jacob asked.

"We need to initiate young Renesmee here, into the Tribe, of course. If she is going to be living here, that is. She's family after all," he grinned at us. "Or will be eventually." He seemed to have a habit of talking to himself under his breath.

"Don't start getting ahead of yourself dad," Jacob whispered, I guess not wanting me to hear him.

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

Nessie's _initiation_ into the Tribe turned out to be more of an introduction of her to those in Sam's Pack who had not already met her, then Billy told some tribal stories about the Wolf legends, she had already heard most of them from me (but Billy did tell them better and I could tell she enjoyed hearing him speak) followed by a bonfire on the beach.

Billy, Sue and Old Quil, along with members of both Packs, and their Imprints, minus Claire since it was past her bedtime, were huddled around several fires that were going throughout the beach.

Paul and Jared were grilling up some food for everyone, while Emily and Rachel unpacked containers of potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad onto a folding table that Sam had set up earlier.

"Nessie, do you want a hotdog?" I asked while holding a plate out to her, stacked high with them. I had grabbed them as soon as they were cooked. You had to move fast to get any food with two Packs of hungry Wolves around.

"No, thank you, Jacob. I think I would like to go hunting with you tomorrow, though."

I tensed immediately. Were we going to have another close call, like we had with Charlie? She had returned to her previous once-a-week hunting schedule. I thought that would be enough to take care of any problems, but Nessie was not used to being around this many people. Was this too much for her? "Do we need to leave right now?"

She saw the worried look in my eyes and reached up to my face. _No, my Jacob, I just really hate the taste of those things,_ she chuckled pointing to the plate of hotdogs. I immediately relaxed.

"In that case, it's a date." I smiled back at her. I loved watching her hunt, she was so graceful and strong. And every time we went hunting she got better and better. Sure, in the beginning, getting her to hunt animals was a bit of a challenge. She preferred the donated blood she received when she was first born, and she could be stubborn when she wanted to be. But it turned out she was very competitive and I soon discovered that if I made it into a contest she readily agreed to the challenge. Now she loved to hunt, as long as it was with me, no one else in her family, besides Bella, could get her to go usually. I felt so honored that it was something she normally shared only with me.

"Hey, everyone," Paul started shouting, "could everyone gather around, Rachel and I have some news we would like to share with you all."

_What's going on? _Nessie inconspicuously asked me with her gift.

"I have no idea, but let's go and find out," I said as I scooped her up and carried her over to where Paul and Rachel were.

As soon as everyone had made their way over, Paul started again. "Thanks everyone. Rachel and I just thought you all should know that she . . . um . . . well, we . . . err -" Was he sweating? I didn't think that was even possible for a Wolf.

"We're pregnant!" Rachel shouted over Paul's stammering. Everyone started shouting and cheering.

Rachel looked so happy but I wondered how Billy would take the news. Rachel and Paul were not even engaged, let alone married. Would he be upset, or did it not even matter anymore, what with the Imprinting. It's not like Paul would ever leave her, and would love her more than any man ever could. To a Wolf, Imprinting was the closest bond you could form with a person, a wedding seemed more of a ceremony just for the benefit of others to watch.

I looked over to my dad. Billy, not being a Wolf himself, but knowing of the Imprinting bond, I was unsure of how was he going to react to this. He waved Rachel and Paul over to him and gave each of them a hug. He whispered something in Paul's ear, but even with my enhanced Wolf hearing I could not make out what he said over all of the cheering and shouting happening around me. I guess I'll have to find out later.

"Nessie, let's go congratulate them and then we need to get going. It's getting late and we told your parents we would meet them at the border at ten."

"Alright, my Jacob."

Seven minutes later Jared was dropping us off at the border were Edward was already waiting for us. He did not seem happy. What was wrong? Were we late? I checked the clock on the car's dashboard and saw that we had arrived two minutes early. What was his problem?

Nessie seemed unaware of his negative mood or was just choosing to ignore it. She dashed out of the car and leapt into his arms, throwing her own around him in a long hug. I know she really missed him, this was hard for her being away from her family, but she hadn't complained once around me. I tried to make the week fun for her, but maybe I hadn't done enough. Edward must have heard something in Nessie's thoughts that I missed, that's why he was mad at me. She must have been miserable and I had completely missed it. I felt awful. I let my Imprint down and didn't even realize it.

"That is not why I am . . . troubled, Jacob. You did a wonderful job with Renesmee this week. It is your thoughts that have upset me," he told me after putting Nessie down in the back seat of his car.

Mine? He had a problem with my thoughts? I had been replaying Paul and Rachel's announcement in my head on the drive over, trying to figure out how my dad was taking the news. Why would Edward be angry with that?

"Nessie, could you please wait in the car for a moment while I speak to Jacob," he asked her as he closed the door and walked into the woods, waiting for me to follow. I didn't really like the idea of leaving Nessie alone in the car but it seemed that Edward wanted to talk to me without Nessie listening. When we got out of her hearing range he began.

"Jacob, I think we need to have a discussion as to whether or not I will allow you to continue your current . . . . relationship with my daughter." He wasn't shouting but his voice was full of contempt. I thought we had become friends over this past year. What had I done? "Do you really think that I would be okay with the idea of how you intend to, one day, _take_ my daughter."

"What?" I was stunned. Take? What did he mean by that, I just brought her back. Two seconds later I got it. _NO_, I screamed in my head. She was still a little girl. I had never even once thought of Nessie like that.

He was livid. Of course I would be too in his shoes. But that wasn't the case here, where was this coming from? "Do you forget that I can read your mind?"

"No I haven't." I was getting irritated now. Why would he think that? He was attacking me for no reason. I would never do something like that to Nessie.

"No, not yet, but someday, when she's older . . . "

"Edward, if one day, I am lucky enough where Nessie loves me enough to choose me to be with her, in _that_ way, or any way, then that is her choice. You know that." He still looked pissed. What was I missing? He knows about the Imprinting. He knows that that is where all Imprinted couples end up, eventually, well hopefully, if all goes right.

He started growling.

Okay, think. There had to be something more and Edward wasn't helping. I was thinking about Rachel and Paul, their announcement, everyone congratulating them, seeing my dad hug them. Of course, they're not married, and I was worried about how my father would react . . .

"Oh." I got it. He was upset that I thought Imprinting was more important than a wedding ceremony and wouldn't bother having one before Nessie and I . . .

"Oh? That is all you have to say for yourself?" Edward growled again.

"Come on Edward, don't you think you are getting a little ahead of yourself? You know I don't even see her like that. Who knows what is going to happen years from now."

"That is not making me feel better, Jacob. Why would you even consider disrespecting her like that?"

"This is ridiculous," I growled back at him. "I'm not _disrespecting_ her, and I never would. Don't you think she should be the one to decide what she wants to do. Of course I would love to marry her, someday, if she would have me, but that is her decision."

"You would marry her?" He seemed shocked.

Was he kidding? "Of course. You know me Edward. I will always do what Nessie wants. If she wants to marry me, someday, it would make me the happiest man alive." After a minute of us just glaring at each other I added, "If there is nothing else, can we go now, I think we have been gone long enough. I don't like leaving Nessie alone this long."

When we got back to the car Nessie was asleep in the back seat. I half contemplated getting in but figured Eddie and I needed time to calm down, so I ran back in my Wolf form, sticking to the forests edge, beside the car, as much as I could.

Wolves, being faster than Vamps meant I arrived back at the cottage before them but hung around outside until they got there.

Most night when Nessie would fall asleep in my arms I would carry her to bed. I had been slightly worried Edward wouldn't let me tonight, or any night after this, but he handed her still sleeping form over as soon as I approached, seemingly having gotten the stick out of his butt. He growled at my thought, but it was quickly followed by a small chuckle as he kissed her forehead.

As I carried Nessie into the cottage I thought about what Edward had said earlier. Even though he was angry with me, he had basically implied that he not only assumed, but accepted that I would marry his daughter, someday. Even if that doesn't happen I am still the luckiest guy in the world, just to be in her presence.

I have never had a more blissful sleep than I had that night, cuddled up with my angel, my reason for being, my everything. I was truly happy and content with our current friend-like love.

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Thanks for reading, please review.


	8. School and a Wedding

**The Micro Moon**

* * *

**Year One, Chapter Eight**

**School and a Wedding**

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Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Over the spring and summer months Jacob and I continued switching back and forth between living at my parents cottage, just outside of Forks, and Billy's house on the Quileute Reservation.

Jacob filled my days on the Reservation with every conceivable form of childlike fun we could think of. I spent my days playing and attempted to experience the childhood of a normal little girl. Jacob and I built sand castles on the beach, and went to the park where my Jacob pushed me on the swings. I even played tag with some of the children in the Tribe. They seemed to have fun, but I had to hold back on my speed the entire time and be mindful of my strength as to not hurt any of them. I was much more comfortable talking out loud now though and it was almost second nature to me. And much to my surprise, while I did use my gift when needing to make a point perfectly clear with my family, or convey my emotions, I found speaking out loud a useful timesaver, rather than individually relaying my thoughts, one at a time, to a group of people.

I was also able to convince Jacob to teach me more about repairing cars. I think I might be able to show Aunt Rosalie I am capable of helping her tinker with her car now. She loves that thing so much she hasn't let me do anything but watch her work on it, up until this point.

When Jacob and I were back home, I would occasionally go with my mother to visit Grampy Charlie, but mostly my family decided I needed to double up on my school lessons, which suited me fine. I had no patience for re-reading something that I had already covered.

I was learning French and Music Composition from my father, as well as continuing with my piano lessons. I learned English Literature from my mother, History and my favorites - Psychology and Philosophy, from Uncle Jasper. Aunt Rosalie was teaching me Chemistry and Physics. I was also having fun learning Art Appreciation from Grandma Esme. Calculus and Business Finances were being taught by Aunt Alice, and Science and Biology from Grandpa Carlisle.

Uncle Emmett took it upon himself to teach me "Gym", well I assume he meant Physical Fitness. Hopefully when I grow a bit more he will start teaching me how to fight. Not that I wanted to go around getting into physical altercations, but it would seem wise to learn to defend myself, or at least hold an attacking Vampire off long enough for help to arrive, if the need ever arose.

Jacob used my home schooling time to patrol. Although he hated being away from me, he also felt guilty that soon he would no longer be helping his Pack out, in that area. I understood why he felt that way. We both also knew, though that he would be patrolling with my family in Hoodsport, so he would still be doing his part. Nevertheless, he told me that daily patrols helped alleviate some of his guilt, so I was not about to argue.

As the summer dragged on, and the date of our departure neared I could see Jacobs guilt rise. He began patrolling more and more. What was once an every other day occurrence for a few hours became a daily activity that went on for hours

It was getting to the point where he was patrolling every day and I could see that he was getting tired. He needed a break.

"My Jacob, you need a day or two off," I said touching the bags that had appeared under his eyes. "There are plenty of Wolves to patrol. You don't have to do it all on your own."

"I know Nessie, and don't worry, I have a day off scheduled."

"When?" I had heard him say that before and he always changed his mind at the last minute and went out anyway.

"Next Sunday," he replied.

"That's not exactly a day off," I argued. "That's Sam and Emily's wedding." It was taking place on August 14th, at 3pm.

Jacob and I were looking forward to attending it together. I couldn't believe it was finally happening, since I had been hearing about all of the preparations for months. It sounded like it was going to be amazing. Aunt Alice made a huge deal out of the dress I would wear. I had never been to a wedding before so I let her dress me in whatever she felt was appropriate but once the day arrived I wished I hadn't.

"My Jacob, why didn't you tell me not to wear this dress?" The long, frilly gown Aunt Alice had placed me in was completely over the top and too formal for the event. All of the women and girls were in sundresses, including the bride.

"Sorry Nessie, you know I love you, but Alice gets crazy scary sometimes," he chuckled. "Don't worry, we just need to take a couple of pictures of you in that get up, to show Alice, then we can go back to Billy's. I asked Rachel to dig out some of her old dresses, I'm sure she has at least one that is more appropriate for today, that you can change into."

I sighed in relief. "Okay, let's get this over with," I said with a wink. Time for some embarrassing pictures.

Fifteen minutes later, after the pictures were taken and I had changed into a cute sundress we returned just in time for the beginning of the wedding ceremony. I enjoyed watching the Quileute wedding traditions that Sam and Emily chose to incorporate into their otherwise contemporary wedding. Jacob was quietly explaining the meaning behind different aspects of the ceremony to me as they were happening until a man sitting in front of us turned around and shushed us.

Whoops! I didn't think we were being that loud.

If I had any more questions about what was happening I could use my gift and show Jacob the part of the ceremony later for him to explain. We didn't make another sound. Well that was until I heard a soft rumbling coming Jacob. Looking over I saw that his eyes were closed. He was sleeping, and worse . . . he was snoring. Right now it was too low for most of the wedding guests to hear, but I did catch some snickers coming from several of the wolves. He obviously had not cut back on his patrols, or took yesterday off to catch up on his sleep, like he assured me he would.

_Jacob wake up! _

"Huh? What!" he woke with a start.

"Shhh!" _You fell asleep. We're at Sam and Emily's wedding. _ I tried to calm and quiet him down as the same man as before glared at us.

Jacob managed to stay awake for the rest of the ceremony and we only got a few more glares from . Once the wedding was over everyone moved to a tented deck over the water on First Beach for the reception. Half of it was covered in tables and the other had been left open for dancing.

The tent was old, but had been decorated beautifully. Emily had gone with an Orange and Peach color theme. There was a plethora of peach gauze covering most of the tents ceiling and walls, and light mandarin and ivory flowers decorated most of the flat surfaces and were also woven around the tent polls. The tables were all covered in different shades of light to dark orange tablecloths. There was no electricity in the tent but on each of the tables housed between three to six candles of various sizes. The candlelight together with all of the gauze and flowers created a lovely soft glow everywhere.

We were seated at a round table with the rest of Jacob's Pack. I thought weddings were suppose to be a happy occasion but other than Seth our table didn't look too cheery. Jacob was trying his hardest to stay awake and Embry just looked like he was trying to make the best of the day but didn't seem like he wanted to be here. Leah on the other hand looked pissed. Seth had previously told me that she originally agreed to be a bridesmaid but backed out a couple of months ago. She still decided to come, but Sam had said something, which Seth refused to repeat to me, but it had angered Leah enough that she was barely speaking to the couple. It was too bad, because Jacob thought, up until that point that Emily and Leah were starting to become friends again. He said that before the whole Wolf–Imprint thing the two cousins had been inseparable. And I wasn't sure what was wrong with Qui, but he didn't look happy either.

"Hi Quil, is Claire with you?" _Those_ two were inseparable. Which was why I was surprised she wasn't sitting with him.

"She's here," he pointed to the other side of the tent. "Her mom is insisting she eat with them . . . the wedding's a family thing so . . ." His face dropped. Oops, I hadn't meant to upset him. Claire was Emily's niece and had made the most adorable flower girl during the ceremony. Her mother was one of the bridesmaids so they were seated at the main table.

"Oh, get over it, Quil. You can play with your little Imprint soon enough," Leah huffed. Wow. I know this must be hard for her, but that was no reason to take it out on Quil.

"Lay off Leah," Seth tried to quiet his sister. "You said you would behave if you came."

"Hey, they should be happy I'm here at all. I don't know why they even invited me."

"She's your cousin, Leah. And your best friend."

"Correction, she _was_ my best friend-"

"Will the two of you drop it, this is supposed to be a party. I would like to try and have fun and forget . . . things." Embry started in. "And that does not include listening to the two of you bicker. Leah, can't you drop it for one night, it's a wedding."

"Yeah, you agreed to come, so suck it up." Quil added.

This was going to be a long night if I was going to be stuck at this Pack table the entire evening. Jacob had fallen asleep again. I didn't try waking him up this time. He just looked so tired. Maybe he would wake up on his own once dinner was served. It looked like he had some time though, there wasn't a plate or server in sight.

The reception was being catered by a local company on the Reservation, but after waiting thirty minutes I could see and hear the guests getting restless. Five minutes later I heard Sam give them a call. With my half-Vampire hearing I easily overheard his entire phone call. Apparently the van broke down on the way over and they were waiting for a replacement to come.

With no food in sight the DJ had started playing music over ten minutes ago, it was really loud and had woken Jacob up. Having only slept such a short amount of time I was surprised to see how rested he looked, at least.

"So what do we now?" I asked him. Everyone had just been sitting around the tables trying to talk to one another – it seemed impossible for the humans to hear one another over the roar coming from the speakers. At our table I could tell Quil was itching to get over to his Imprint, he hadn't taken his eyes off of Claire all afternoon. Seth was frustrated trying to calm Leah down and Embry was getting more and more irritated, probably from having to listen to them. Hungry Wolves never seemed to be too pleasant to be around but now I, and the Wolves, whose hearing was as good as mine, knew the food was going to be delayed even more.

Jacob stood with his hand out, "How about a dance?"

"I can't," I shook my head, "I haven't learned how to dance, yet."

"Not a problem, Nessie. I can teach you. It's not that hard. Just listen to the music and move to the beat. You are amazing at playing the piano so I am sure you can pick it up easily. Come on." He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the dance floor.

There were a few people dancing already, but mostly it was little kids jumping around and acting silly. Jacob was a great teacher and I started getting the hang of it. This type of dancing did not seem to have a predetermined choreographed set of steps, like the dances I had seen some of my family do. It was freer and more rhythmic where dancers created their own interpretations and movements to the music.

I had just about gotten to where I thought I was no longer completely awkward when I saw Quil come on the dance floor with Claire.

"Hey guys, looks like you had a good idea." Quil smiled over to us. He looked much happier now that he was with his Imprint.

"Nessie!" Claire exclaimed and ran over to me. "Did you bring any toys, I'm bored" she screamed, unaware that I could hear her perfectly. Even if she had whispered

"Oh, no I'm sorry Claire, I don't have any toys with me, but my Jacob is teaching me how to dance. Why don't you ask your Quil to teach you the same." She just stared at me blankly, obviously not hearing a word I said, so I repeated myself using my gift. All of the Imprints knew not only what I was, but what I could do.

"I already know how to dance. Watch me." And with that she started jumping all over the dance floor. She was having so much fun but didn't seem to be dancing to the song the DJ was playing. Quil didn't seem to mind though, he started jumping along beside her. They looked slightly ridiculous but happy, or maybe they were just ridiculously happy. Either way our dancing was soon cut short. The replacement catering truck finally arrived.

We made our way back to our seats and ate some now very cold food. The Wolves would eat anything, and all human food, with very few exceptions tasted unappetizing to me, so it really didn't matter if it was hot or cold, but the rest of the guests didn't look too happy.

After dinner was finished Sam and Emily got up to cut the cake. It had been placed on a small table in the middle of the dance floor. Whoever made it did a lovely job. It consisted of two layers of cake covered in white frosting, with three white pillars separating the layers. There were peach colored flowers made from icing, cascaded down the sides in a sweeping wave with little bride and groom figurines topping the cake.

The cake cutting went off without a hitch, once someone was able to track down the special knife Sam and Emily wanted to use. I didn't see what was so important about a knife. How was one different than any other. But they wanted this one, this _missing_ one. After an exhaustive search it was finally located at the bottom of a box tucked under a corner table the caterers had covered in extra supplies. The happy couple fed each other a bite, which I found weird until Jacob explained to me how this was a normal wedding custom. Then the caterers took over and began cutting it into smaller pieces.

I liked being out of the house and coming here. This wedding was the most interesting thing I have ever seen, other than sand. All of the traditions and customs that were followed seemed silly, (they were perfectly capable of feeding themselves) but they seemed to make Emily and Sam happy. I however was ready to leave. But there still seemed like there was a lot of _traditions_ that needed to be followed before the event was over.

The next tradition seemed to involve a microphone. The DJ took great care in setting it up on a stand in the middle of the dance floor. At first I wondered if he was going to sing but then he asked Paul, who was Sam's best man to come up. Jacob explained that he and a few others were going to say a few words and toast the happy couple while the cake was being cut and distributed.

Halfway through the toasts the microphone went out, and after some fiddling it was determined that the generator they borrowed from the Reservations Community Center had died. This also meant there would be no more music. On the plus side the tent was not too big and a microphone was not really essential, so the speeches continued. An old battery powered boom box was dug out of one of the guests trucks so eventually there was music, of sorts, for the end of the reception, and the bride and groom still managed to have their first dance.

"I feel bad for Emily, it's too bad the reception was such a disaster," Jacob whispered to me. I squeezed his hand to reassure him, after a quick glance over to the head table assured me that Emily hadn't even noticed anything was wrong. She seemed so happy. Why wouldn't she, she was an Imprint marrying her Wolf. Wasn't that all that really mattered?

"You're right, Nessie. That's all that matters."

"My Jacob, did you just hear my thoughts?" I didn't even realized I sent them to him since I wasn't touching his face but he had responded to them just the same. Maybe it was just a guess.

"Yes, why would you ask -" Confusion turned to wonder in his eyes when he also realized that I hadn't been touching his face like I normally needed to. "Amazing. Try it again and see if you can repeat it."

_My Jacob, can you hear me?_

No response, so I tried again this time holding both his hands. _Jacob, can you hear me?_

Again no response. "Jacob, did you hear anything?" I asked out loud.

"Nothing, Nessie. Maybe it was just a fluke. But we should probably let you family know about it just the same. The reception is winding down, we can leave soon without it looking rude."

"Time for the bouquet toss," someone yelled.

"What's going on now?"

"It's another wedding tradition. All of the unmarried ladies gather on one side while the bride tosses her bouquet from the other. Whoever manages to catch it is supposed to be the next one to get married. It's just a superstition but it's funny to see all of the women battling over some flowers. Do you want to stay and watch?"

"Sure."

Just as Jacob had said, all of the women gathered on the far side of the tent, minus Leah; not surprisingly. Emily turned her back to the group and flung her bouquet over her head. It managed to go completely wide, in the opposite direction, right towards Leah. Ha! I wonder if that was intentional?

Leah dove out of the way, when she saw it coming towards her, and the bouquet flopped onto the table behind her. It ended up knocking over some candles, which set the tablecloth on fire.

I thought I heard my Jacob chuckling. "Yup, that seems about right." He was being a little cavalier about the whole thing, but it did seem to fit the mood of the day. What else could go wrong?

Luckily, the fire was quickly put out by Jared who was standing next to an ice bucket and dumped it over the table. No one was hurt and none seemed too bothered, before long the guests started laughing and dancing again. This seemed to be the perfect time to make our exit.

"Ready to go?"

"Sure, Sure. Let's say goodbye to everyone first. Then we need to stop back at Billy's so you can change back into the _Alice dress_. We wouldn't want her finding out."

No, we definitely did not want her finding out.

We made our way over to the Bride and Groom, saying our goodbyes to everyone on the way.

After that was done Jacob found Billy and asked if he needed a ride home. It was not needed though, he already had plans to leave with Rachel and Paul, since they had brought him and he wanted to stay a bit longer, anyway. Her baby bump was getting bigger and she looked so happy.

Once I had changed back into the "Alice dress" as we were now referring to it, we went back to the main Cullen house. Jared had ended up accompanying us part of the way and then ran back to the wedding in Wolf form as he left us at the border. I am sure everyone at home would want to hear how my first wedding experience went since it was only just after 7pm.

"Hey kiddo," Emmett boomed from the living room. "How was it? Kill anyone getting the bouquet?" He always thought he was funny but he just didn't realize how close he was this time.

"No. No one caught it actually. Luckily no one was hurt from the fire."

Everyone looked concerned, except my father who saw the whole thing in my head, he just winced a bit.

"Here, let me show you," and one by one I replayed the wedding and reception to my family, making sure to edit it so they saw me in the "Alice dress" and not Rachel's old sundress.

My father would see the truth in my mind, but he didn't look like he would say anything. I shot him a quick glance and he shook his head, agreeing to keep my secret. _Thanks_, I thought back.

"Well you certainly had an entertaining experience," my Grandpa Carlisle stated. "I am more intrigued by this new development of your gift, though. We should run some tests and see if we can duplicate it."

"I already tried at the wedding, I could not get it to work again."

"Don't worry Renesmee," my mother came to me, "when I was first starting to expand my shield I had similar difficulties. It will probably just take practice."

"Okay, but can we try tomorrow. It has been a long night and I would like to go back to the cottage and relax before bed." And Jacob is about to fall asleep standing up. He would deny it, if asked, but I know his eyes began drooping on the car ride back.

"Of course, Renesmee. We'll see you tomorrow morning," my father said as he hugged me goodnight. The rest of my family followed his lead, and then Jacob scooped me up in his arms and carried me back to the cottage.

Over the next few weeks I tried over and over again to send thoughts to my family by touching them, anywhere other than their cheek, with limited success. I was able to repeat my experience at the wedding occasionally, so that was something, but I could not control it as well as I would have liked. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, and on more than one occasion it happened when I wasn't even trying. This could potentially be embarrassing. I assumed it would just take time, like my mother said.

* * *

What did you think? Good? Bad? Boring?

Review and let me know.

Thanks


	9. Wolves and the Volturi Laws

**Year Two - The Full Moon**

Renesmee's physical development grows from a six year old to an eleven year old girl.

Chapter 9 - Wolves and the Volturi Laws

Chapter 10 - The Goodbye Party

Chapter 11 - Moving In

Chapter 12 - Legal Matters

Chapter 13 - High School

Chapter 14 - Home School

Chapter 15 - Christmas and Jake's Birthday

Chapter 16 - Books and Suits

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.

* * *

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Nine**

**Wolves and the Volturi Laws**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

In early September Huilen and Nahuel showed up one night at the main house completely out of the blue. They said that they came for Nessie's birthday, but since Alice couldn't see Nahuel, and they didn't use any modern technology, like cell phones the first news that we got of their arrival was when Edward picked up on their thoughts three miles from the house as they ran through the forest.

The last time we saw them was during our encounter with the Volturi in January. Alice and Jasper had brought them back with them to help prove Nessie would not be a threat to the Vampire world. Nahuel was a half-Vampire just like Nessie, except he was over one hundred fifty years old, and still looked somewhere between 20 to 25.

When they last saw her, Nessie was only a few months old and looked like a two years old. Now, almost a year later, she had the appearance of a six year old. She also had the mental equivalence of a full grown adult; but would you expect otherwise when she had learned how to talk at one week, walk at three weeks and read at two months?

The Cullens and I were remaining in Forks for the next week, before moving. I heard Huilen mention to Carlisle that they were hoping to stay and visit through September so I guess they would be coming with us to the new house in Hoodsport, WA. It didn't seem like a big deal and we did owe them for helping us with the Volturi. Hell, it wasn't even my house. Just as long as they stuck with the agreement they made, the last time they were here, and didn't hunt in the area.

I made sure to inform Sam's Pack and my own, so no misunderstandings occurred. All of the Wolves probably remembered their scents but I didn't want to take any chances. Phasing would probably be the easiest way. Not only could I talk to my Pack, but Sam as well, and pass along the memory of Huilen and Nahuel's scents in case anyone forgot or confused them with someone else's from a year ago.

Nessie was currently having a piano lesson with Edward, she really was sounding amazing. After letting the Cullen family know I would be contacting my Pack so no one would be alarmed when I howled, I slipped outside.. It was an easy way to let any un-phased Wolf know to phase, without having to call everyone one by one. Two minutes later everyone was in Wolf form and I could hear my entire Pack.

_Jake, do we have a problem? _Embry asked.

_Yeah what's going on? _Seth wondered.

_We can be there in 5 minutes_, Embry again,

_Is Nessie okay? _Quil jumped in.

_This better be important. _Leah was being her usual _charming_ self.

_Guys, it's not an emergency, calm down. I didn't mean to worry everyone but there are some Vampires in the area, and I needed to let you know. _

_What are we waiting for, let's go get them. _Embry seemed to be looking for a fight.

_No can do, Embry. They're friends, sort of. That's why I'm letting you know, so no one attacks them. _

_Jake, you know we wouldn't attack any vegetarian vamps, the yellow eyes are easy to spot. _Seth tried reminding me.

If only it were that easy.

_Well, see, the thing is, they are not vegetarians like the Cullens. But they agreed not to hunt in the area. They were here last year. You probably will remember them. _

_Oh, so they were some of the witnesses that are friends of Carlisle? _Quil guessed.

_No, they weren't . . . _

_Jake you can't think we're going to let the Volturi stay here? _Seth began too. Couldn't they just stop and let me explain.

_Relax they aren't members of the Volturi. _

_So they were some of the Volturi witnesses, Jake that's not much better. I say we take them out now, before they know what hit them. _Really what is up with Embry?

_GUYS, Listen and chill, especially you Embry. After this I think we need to have a talk. Anyway, do you guys remember the half-Vampire and his Aunt that Alice and Jasper brought back with them from South America?_

I heard everyone think "_yes_", so I continued.

_Well they came for a visit. And since the guy, Nahuel, is basically the reason that the Volturi let Renesmee live and it didn't turn into a giant bloodbath, we need to give them a pass. They agreed not to hunt in the area, anyway. _

_Yeah, I see your point, Jake. I guess we can do that. _Leave it to Seth to be so understanding.

_Everyone understand? _More "_yes_" responses from everyone. _Good, Here are there scents, remember them in case you come across them again_. I added as I recalled their scents in my head. It would be as if my Pack smelled Nahuel and Huilen themselves. _Okay, that's it. Oh, one more thing, does anyone have eyes on Sam?_

_Yeah, he's by me. _Quil responded.

_Great, could you phase back and ask him to phase in about 10 minutes, so I can relay everything to him. _

Once everyone phased back it was time to see what was up with Embry. He seemed more agitated than usual.

_Embry, let's talk. What's going on?_

_I don't know what you mean Jake. _

_You're really trying to keep something from me? You know how the Pack mind works. _I didn't want to go digging through his mind, but searched through the thoughts floating around on the surface. Nothing stood out that would justify his recent attitude. Whatever was bugging him he was intentionally not thinking about it. There was a time when I had to do the same thing around Edward, so I knew he could not keep it up forever, but I couldn't wait around all day for his mind wander. _You are eventually going to let it slip and then everyone will know. Why don't you just tell me. If something is wrong maybe I can help. _

_Jake, I told you, nothing's wrong, just butt out. _

_Sure, sure. _I gave him a minute to come around_. . . . Fine, whatever. I'm not going to push, just make sure it doesn't interfere with your patrols. _

Just then I heard Sam's thoughts so I let Embry go and went through everything again for Sam, so he could pass along the scents to his Pack. He was even less happy about the situation than my guys, but he at least agreed to not attack Huilen and Nahuel.

With that taken care of I phased back and returned to the Cullen's house just as Nessie was finishing her piano lesson.

"Hey, there you are, my Jacob. How did the talk go with your Pack?"

"All good Nessie. Huilen and Nahuel shouldn't have any problems from the Wolves."

_That's good. Come on, let's go hunt_. she thought as she grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door. She was getting better and better using her gift to communicate by touching somewhere other than faces.

* * *

With Nessie's first birthday just a few days away I was busy finishing the gift I was making her. I hope she will like it. It's almost done, I wanted to have had finished it by now but Huilen and Nahuel's arrival had put me behind schedule.

Falling asleep at Sam and Emily's wedding last month had literally been the wakeup call I needed to make me see that I was stretching myself too thin. Running daily patrols for hours on end, anytime I was not with Nessie had gotten to be too much. I still patrolled now, but was back to my normal schedule of once every three days. There were enough wolves that anymore was not necessary. I just had felt guilty that I would be leaving soon and tried to make up for it by doing extra before I left.

Cutting back on the patrols gave me more time to work on Nessie's birthday present. I had made small figurines of all of the original Wolves –Sam, Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil, Leah, Seth, and myself. Each was carved from local woods that I was currently staining to better match each Wolf's fur color. And I had given each one a slightly different pose that I felt depicted their personalities even though I wasn't sure if Nessie would be able to figure out who was who. She had spent the most time with my Pack and had gotten to know Sam, Paul and Jared pretty well. What was I even worried about? She is the smartest person, well non-vamp, I know. Of course she will be able to tell who's who. I needed to hurry up though.

Huilen and Nahuel said they had something important to speak to all of us about tonight and wanted to meet everyone around 8pm. It was already 7:15 and I still had three Wolves left to stain. I needed to finish this today in order for the stain to dry in time to give it to Nessie for her birthday.

Huilen said she wanted to let us know the reason for her and Nahuel's visit, right away. I guess coming here was more than just for a birthday party, like she had originally said.

Once again we were dragged into a family meeting, this time led by Huilen, around that damn dining room table. I was really beginning to hate that thing. Nothing good every seemed to happen around it.

Nahuel had gone out hunting earlier, and had not returned yet, Carlisle suggested she start without him if it was that important, but Huilen insisted we wait for him. It was well past Nessie's bedtime by the time Nahuel finally arrived. When he and Huilen finally began speaking it had gotten so late that Nessie had fallen asleep on my lap.

"I am sorry for my tardiness. Hunting so far away from here took longer than expected. Thank you for waiting for me," Nahuel apologized. He was thanking us for giving him time to go kill some innocent person? Gross! "I enjoyed my time here last year with all of you . . . even if it was not under the best of circumstances." He continued as if he couldn't see the obvious look of contempt I was shooting him. "Huilen and I came here for two reasons, first to see everyone and wish young Renesmee a happy birthday." He smiled first over to Bella and then to a sleeping Nessie, something about his grin made me uneasy.

"The second reason was because we learned of some interesting news that we wanted to make sure you received," Huilen spoke now. "After our encounter with the Volturi last year, and they learned about the existence of Nahuel along with his father, Joham, and his daughters, they went to pay our . . . _family_ a visit."

We all assumed that the Volturi would kill Joham, and possibly his sisters, but why would those Volturi bastards ever do what we expected?

"Aro took Jane, Alec, Renata, Felix and Demetri with him to South America, looking for them. It took much longer than expect to located them, apparently." Nahuel added.

"Demetri should have been able to find them easily. I wonder if he can't track half-Vampires, just like I can't see their futures?" Alice chimed.

"That would be interesting," Carlisle added in. "It might mean some extra protection from the Volturi in the future if they don't know where exactly we, or at least where Renesmee, is."

That was good, extra protection for Nessie made me happy, or at least worry less. Of course I was always worried about anything that could hurt Nessie but I hoped that our Volturi problem was truly gone, for now at least.

I was taken out of my thoughts by more of Nahuel's ramblings. "The Volturi let Joham and my sisters live. I believe Aro used his gift on each of them first and learned whatever it was he specifically went there for. After a brief _warning _from Jane,"we all knew what that meant, pain, pain and more pain; I almost might have felt sorry for Joham if I hadn't heard what a sick bastard he was, "Aro informed Joham that his experiments must cease immediately and the only reason they were letting him live was because they did not have a law previously forbidding the creation of half-Vampires."

"When they returned to Italy we heard that the Volturi issued a new law, the first in a millennium I believe," Huilen added. "They made what Aro had told Joham official, regarding their ban on creating any new half-Vampires. Then they went one step further and decreed that any other half-Vampires that currently exist need to present themselves to the Volturi. They declared that after a _routine_ examination, they would not be harmed."

Before she even stopped talking the table erupted with everyone talking at once.

"I don't see how they expect to get away with something like that." Carlisle exclaimed.

"It makes sense but I don't see how they would expect to enforce such a law?" Jasper stated.

"Why would other half-Vampires put themselves in such a position, voluntarily?" questioned Bella.

"What is '_routine examination'_ suppose to mean?" Esme seemed truly troubled.

"They can't do that!" Emmett shouted over and over.

"Does this mean Nessie is protected from other Vampires who might want to hurt her?" Rosalie asked. Hmmm, that would be nice.

"I wonder how many more are out there that I can't see?" Alice actually looked sick at that news.

"Everyone calm down!" Edward yelled over the other voices. Amazingly, with all of the shouting Nessie was still asleep in my arms. I was extremely thankful that she was not awake to hear any of this. She already had a hard enough time sleeping. "We cannot be responsible for the rest of the Vampire world. We are not the Volturi and I don't think anyone in this room wants to be." Everyone quieted down and those that were standing returned to their seats. "I suggest we quietly monitor the situation. For all we know there may not be any other half-Vampires that exist. The Volturi did not know of any until last year and they have been around longer that any of us. Even Stephan and Vladimir did not know of any half-Vampires existences and they are older than the Volturi. Joham intentionally tried creating half-Vampires and was only successful FOUR times in the past two hundred years."

"This is true" Nahuel spoke up. "I heard from my sisters how he tried many times over the centuries to create more half-Vampires and while he knew what he was doing he still was rarely successful."

What Edward and Nahuel said made sense and soon everyone began to calm down.

Carlisle then spoke up, "I suggest that if we hear of anything disturbing in the future we can reconvene and discuss this again. But let's not worry about something that probably will never happen."


	10. The Goodbye Party

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Ten**

**The Goodbye Party**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

It was Tuesday, September 11, 2007 and today was my first official birthday. I was only going to have seven of them so I intended to make the most of each one. Grampy Charlie was suppose to be coming over around 6pm along with whomever else Aunt Alice invited. I knew she had a giant party planned but that was all the details I received from her. We were moving tomorrow so the party wasn't just a celebration for my birthday. It was doubling as a going away party for Jacob, a chance to say goodbye to his family and Pack.

Jacob was currently in La Push. He wanted to spend the day there . . . alone. His plan was to visit some of his favorite spots: the beach, his old school, the Community Center, Emily's house where Sam's Pack would hang out, his makeshift auto-garage, and a few other spots that were special to him. I didn't like my Jacob being away from me for so long, but if he needed time to say goodbye to his old home today, before he said goodbye to his friends and family tonight then I wouldn't try and stop him. And it gave me an idea.

I asked him if he could pick up a seashell from First Beach for me while he was there.

He would be coming to the party later with his father, Paul, and Rachel. Paul could have more easily driven Rachel and Billy over in his car without all of the fuss, but Aunt Alice had insisted that Jacob pick them up in his Rabbit. And everyone, even the Werewolves, knew not to go against her. But this meant Jacob would have to drive them all back home when the party was over. I had a feeling she was up to something. But what?

Just before 6pm the guests started arriving. Jacob's four Pack members all came up the stairs and into the living room together. They probably all ran here in Wolf form. Quil didn't bring Claire, like I hoped he would, but my party would run late and she was only four years old. I would have liked to have seen her one last time, while I was still young looking, not being sure when the next time we would be back would be. It didn't make that much of a difference to me, but it would to her.

"Hey Nessie, Happy Birthday," Seth ran right over and picked me up into a great big hug.

"Thanks, Seth. Did you see or hear from Jacob on your way over? He was suppose to pick up his family and come over."

"Yeah, they're right behind us. It'll take them a little longer to get here, since they're driving."

"Hey, where's my little girl?" I heard Grampy Charlie yell from the front door.

"I'm upstairs, dad," my mother called to him. "Come on up, we're in the living room."

Well most of us were in the living room. Leah, Embry, and Quil all migrated out to the back porch pretty quickly. It must have been hard for them being here with my families too-sweet Vampire smell everywhere. They had not gotten used to it, like Jacob had. My family probably were grateful for their current location as well.

"Excuse me Seth, I'm going to go find Grampy Charlie."

I quickly bounced away, but before I found him, Sam and Emily arrived with some of the younger Wolves they had given a ride to. I didn't know all of their names, Billy had introduced me to the Wolves during my initiation, not the other way around. Occasionally one of them would _babysit_ me in La Push but they never seemed too friendly, mostly keeping to themselves, and never talking to me. I didn't mind, though. I wasn't there to talk to them, I was in La Push to be with my Jacob, enjoy my _childhood,_ and give Jacob some time with Billy and Rachel.

A few more of Sam's Pack trickled in, and some even brought their Imprints. It was nice to have more girls with all of the Wolves here.

I received Happy Birthday wishes from everyone as they came in but I kept looking at the door as the time got later and later. Jacob still had not arrived.

"Hey, there's my granddaughter. Happy birthday Nessie." We had briefly said hello to each other soon after he first arrived, but I had quickly gotten pulled away by Aunt Alice, claiming I needed to properly greet my other guests.

"Hi Grampy."

"I can't believe it's your first birthday. You're getting to be such a pretty young lady." He looked a little unsettled. Today was an extra reminder, to him, that even though I looked like a six year old, I had only been alive for one year. He was still on his "need to know" policy. I wonder, if he ending up marrying Sue, if she would she let him in on the whole Vampire/Werewolf secret?

"Mom finally let you go I see. I've been trying to say Hi to you all night, but between her hogging you and Aunt Alice with me, not to mention everyone's birthday wishes, I kept missing you."

"Well you have me now."

Grampy Charlie and I chatted for awhile. It was nice seeing him one last time before we left, even knowing it wouldn't be the last time I ever got to see him. It didn't really feel like goodbye to me, not like how my mother was acting like it was.

Finally, almost two hours after the party began Billy, Paul, Rachel and my Jacob arrived. What took them so long? Seth said they were right behind him. Maybe Jacob just wanted some alone time with Billy. It had just been the two of them for years before Rachel moved back home and Jacob came to live with me.

"Nessie, time for cake," Aunt Alice chimed from somewhere. Yuck! I still didn't like human food, preferring blood. And cake was one of my least favorite. I never could get used to the flavor of it. Or cookies; or pastries, all baked goods, really. It was just so unnatural, full of artificial sweeteners, dyes, chemicals. Most processed foods really, no matter how healthy companies tried to make their prepackaged boxes sound, chemicals were still chemicals, no matter whether you dress them up as _essential_ vitamins and minerals, or not. The result was so far from its original form, it likewise also tasted fake. Don't get me wrong, I did like sugary foods. Just naturally occurring sugar, like in fruit. Strawberries were my favorite.

Hearing Alice, all of the Wolves, that had spent most of the night on the back porch, magically reappeared inside. I bet they would devour the entire massive cake before the night was done, saving me from having to eat it later.

My mother and I blew out the candles, since we were pretending it was her birthday party too, for Grampy Charlie's sake, anyway.

My mother's mother and her husband, Nana Renée and Phil, even mailed her a present, a new jacket for the cold Washington winters. We all had a good laugh when she opened it earlier. I'm sure one of the Imprints wouldn't mind taking it for her, or else we could donate it with all of the rest of the clothes we got rid of every month. Alice really needed to cut back on the shopping and let my family wear clothes more than once or twice. It seemed very wasteful. I couldn't do that yet though, myself. I was growing so fast I had to wear new larger sized clothes pretty much every couple of weeks as I grew out of them.

As I was preparing to endure my first bite of cake I spotted Huilen and Nahuel clinging to the far corner of the room. I hadn't talked to them all night long. In fact I really hadn't spent much time with them at all since their arrival. I probably should once we were all set up in the new house. Most of my family will be in High School during the day so it will just be Grandma Esme, them, and myself. That would be plenty of time. They seemed a little out of place but I did see Nahuel had a piece of cake. He took a bite at the same time I did. From the look on his face it seemed he liked it about as much as I did. He spit it into a napkin before abandoning it and his plate behind a plant. I wished I could do that.

I should go over and at least say thank you to them for coming to the party. That was why they came all the way to Washington, after all.

"Alright everyone, can we all gather around so Nessie can open her birthday presents," my mother called over the crowd.

Too late. I guess I'll have to talk to them later.

My family gave me some wonderful gifts of more clothes and jewelry. I received a few books from Grampy Charlie that I was well beyond, but would never tell him that, and a hand woven rug from Huilen and Nahuel. Billy made me a necklace that, although he never said a word, I think he made the beads in it himself. It was beautiful. And the Wolves had all gotten together to give me some cheesy tourist trap items from La Push, as a joke, but I loved them too. They would be wonderful reminders of my time there.

My favorite gift of all was from Jacob. I could not believe he hand-carved so many Wolves himself. The detail was amazing. Of course I had seen the one he made for my mother years ago, but these seemed more personal. He was truly talented. At first I thought it was just a collection of Wolves in various poses, but upon closer examination I could see that they were not just any Wolves. They were of Jacob and his Pack, along with a few of the Wolves from Sam's Pack. It was amazing. It must have taken him hours.

"Here," Jacob said handing me the seashell I had requested after I finished opening the last of my presents. "If I had known all you wanted for your birthday was a shell, I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort," he joked.

"That's not why I requested one Jacob." I replied, but before I got the chance to explain the significance of the shell to him my father interrupted us.

"We have one more present," he said, speaking loud enough to be heard over the crowd, "could everyone please gather in the front yard."

Once we were all outside my father continued, "Billy, we want to thank you for letting your son join our family in Hoodsport. We know how much you love him and how much of a help he has been to you over the years. Nothing we could ever say or do could ever replace him, but we hope this might make things a bit easier for you. Please accept this gift from us, as a small token of our appreciation."

Uncle Emmett then pulled up in a brand new truck. When he got out I saw that it looked like it had been specially outfitted to accommodate Billy's wheelchair. The front seat was missing and there was a chair lift in its place so Billy could just roll up to the door and the mechanical lift would take him (and his chair) to where the driver's seat would normally be. It looked like Aunt Rose's handiwork. He would never need anyone to help him in and out of a truck again. I could also see that there were accelerator and brake controls on the steering wheel, if he ever needed them in the future. I wonder what else she did? Now it made sense why Aunt Alice insisted Jacob drive Billy here.

"You did a fine job raising Jacob and we hope he will be as happy with our family as he has been with you and yours," my father finished saying.

I don't think any of the Wolves even heard my father, they were all mesmerized by the truck.

As I looked at Jacob though I could see that he was fighting back some tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes and I felt guilty, again, that I was taking Jacob away from his family.

"Guys could you give me a moment alone with the Cullens?" Billy did not look happy like I thought he would, he actually looked . . . mad. But why?

Most of the party guests retreated back into the house, Jacob's Pack and my family remained. After a minute Billy started talking again. "Thank you Edward, that is very . . . charitable of you, but I can't accept that truck. I understand that Jake needs to be with Renesmee since he Imprinted on her, . . . but you seem to think that it's okay to trade my son in for a fancy ride and it's not." He looked pissed and started rolling away, but Jake blocked his path.

Oh, this was awkward. The few remaining Wolves slowly dispersed into the woods and most of my family vanished back into the house.

"Dad, I'm not being traded for a truck, how could you say that."

"It's alright, Jacob," my father said, "Billy is right to be upset. He is losing you. You're his only son. It's understandable, him being angry." Then he turned back to Billy. "Please forgive us, we did not mean to distress you in any way."

"You must understand that we were not trying to insult you," Carlisle continued for him. "We simply wanted to try to do whatever we could to make this easier for you."

"Renesmee, why don't you go inside," my father whispered to me.

"Alright, dad." I agreed, but first I turned and went over to Billy. I wanted to say a proper goodbye to him in case I did not get another chance before we left.

I gave Billy a hug, "Thank you for coming to my birthday party." _I am sorry I'm ripping your family apart. I understand that if he never Imprinted on me, you would still have your son. Please forgive me. Jacob is so wonderful, and I know why you love him so much, because I love him too and would not want to give him up either . _I shared the last part with my gift and passed on to him all the love I felt for both of them.

He gruffed then let out a deep breath. "Nessie, you're right. I know, I overreacted. It's my turn to ask for your forgiveness. I can see you were only trying to do something nice." He looked like he was the one holding back tears now.

I just smiled and nodded to him, if I tried to talk anymore I would have started crying.

"Billy, I'll be right back," Jacob then picked me up and carried me in the house to where the rest of my family was trying to ignore, but could clearly hear, the awkward conversation that just happened outside.

"Nessie, I don't know what you shared with him, but I can't thank you enough. I have to go back and talk with him some more, make sure everything is okay, and say goodbye. Do you think you will be okay for a bit?"

"Of course, I will see you when you're done."

Uncle Emmett put on a movie and turned up the volume so they could have some privacy outside. An hour later Jacob came back inside. He told me that everything was worked out with Billy, thanks to me. I didn't think I did that much, I just told him how much I loved his son. In the end Billy drove his new truck home. According to my father he said that Billy really did appreciate it.


	11. Moving In

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Eleven**

**Moving In**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

"Okay, kids. Time to wake up. We're here." Edward said as he jostled Nessie and me awake.

Alice had woken us up around 5am and we pretty much stumbled our way into the backseat of Edwards car, still half asleep, the morning after Nessie's birthday party, and then quickly fell back asleep I know her family had no problem, not needing any sleep themselves, but was it really necessary that we have to leave that early? I know Edward had told me why, but my brain was still half asleep and I couldn't remember right now.

Looking around I saw that we had pulled up to our new home on a gloomy Wednesday morning. We were still in Washington so the weather was no surprise, but the house sure was. I was expecting something similar to the one in Forks, and while this new one was also hidden away in the woods off of some back road it wasn't a converted Victorian style house like that had been. This was much more modern in design. I'm guessing that the Cullens must have built it themselves over the last year, soon after we settled on the location. I had to hand it to them, the outside looked nice and huge – a combination of wood and stone, three stories, lots of windows and surrounded by flowers

While I had little more than a few bags, the Cullens had been bringing carfull after carfull of their things here over the last week. The main house, in Forks, along with the cottage, had been closed up, but still had all of the furniture and some clothes for everyone in case we needed to go back at anytime, which made sense since my family and Pack was there as well as Bella's dad, Charlie.

"Come on Nessie, let's go explore this place." I said as I grabbed her hand and we exited the car. After sleeping the entire three hour car ride, I was beginning to feel much more awake. And to my great relief Nessie seemed happy, despite the fact that she had just left the only home she had ever known. This must be hard for her. It was hard for me as well. I had left my home, my family, and my Pack to go live with a bunch of Vampires. But I did it to be with Nessie. I would do anything for her, and that made this easier for me. And right now she needed me to be strong and not seem like I was upset moving away from everything and everyone I knew and loved.

"Who's ready for a tour of the house?" Esme asked everyone, with a giant smile on her face. We all followed her in, including Huilen and Nahuel who came with us, in one of the other cars, as she led us through the front door.

"Okay everyone, as you can see this is the main living room." It looked like the Cullens had brought their artwork – paintings, sculptures, and other knick-knacks from the old house, even if the furniture was all new. But it was all in the same color scheme as the Forks house had been . . . boring white and beige. It could use some color.

"Renesmee and Jacob, your bedrooms are down the hallway on the right," Esme continued while walking over to us. "There is a full bathroom between the two that you can access through your rooms. I also added a washer and dryer in there for you Jacob," she said, coming a little too close to me for my liking. I know she was just trying to be nice, but it still felt weird . . . wrong. Against my Werewolf instincts. "I wanted to make this as comfortable for you as possible, Jacob, and I thought this would help keep your things smelling better, to you, if you could wash them separately. Your room also has its own door to the outside to make it easier for you to phase when needed." Wow. That was thoughtful.

"Behind the living room is the kitchen and the dining room." She pointed out, without any of us actually going to look at them for ourselves. I guess we would get in there eventually. "I thought it would be best if your rooms were closest, since you're the only two who will get any practical use from them," she added with a wink towards us.

We followed her to the other side of the house. "In here is the music room," she said while leading us in. Edwards piano took up a large part of the room but there was still enough space leftover for a couple couches and a giant flat screen on the wall. "There are two guest bedrooms down the back hall. Nahuel and Huilen will that be alright for you?" They just nodded in approval and left in that direction. "Alright, well then let's go up the stairs to the second floor." We followed her though the rest of the house starting on the second floor where she showed us her and Carlisle's bedroom on the right towards the front of the house and Carlisle's office right behind it. There was a movie room in the middle. And on the other side was Edward and Bella's bedroom in the back corner. The front room was for their own use. I had never been in any of their bedrooms in Forks and didn't venture past the doorways here either, but from what I could tell from Carlisle's office, which I had seen both versions, everything here was a mirror replica of the old house. Lots of beige, even more white, expensive furniture, even more expensive antiques.

We then followed Esme up the stairs again to the third floor.

"Alice your bedroom is on the right towards the back, with the front room set up for Jasper's office. The library is in the middle." After everyone finished looking around the library that was lined with the Cullens collection of hundreds of books, Esme led us to the left side of the house toward the front. I stayed in the hallway again as everyone else went inside. "And here we have Rosalie and Emmett's bedroom with a back room to do with as you please.

"I have also added extra soundproofing throughout the house. And as you have seen everyone's rooms of course have a large walk in closet and full bath attached," she added almost as an afterthought. "Is there anything that anyone wants changed? Or could I add anything for anyone?"

"I guess this is acceptable," Rose said. "if the dog has to be in the same house as us at least he is as far away as possible, from me," she snarled.

"Right back at you, Blondie," I snapped back at her.

"I'm not sure I am comfortable being so far away from my daughter," Bella spoke up next. They were only one floor away but I guess she was right; they were diagonally on the other side of the house from each other.

"Bella, dear," Edward tried comforting her, "Renesmee will be fine. Jacob will be right there with her, and she's not a baby anymore. She's in a house full of Vampires. We can get to her in under a second, from anywhere on the property, if we needed to."

"You're right," she smiled at him. "It's just that she is still my baby."

"Mom calm down, we're still in the same house, it's not like I'm moving to China or something." Nessie added with a smirk. "I'm sure I will be fine."

Bella seemed to calm down and after that no one else had an objections so we all went off, in pairs, to explore our new rooms.

When I entered my bedroom the first thing I did was open all the windows. There was a slight Vampire stench, but if the Cullens stayed out, like they agreed to do, it would soon clear out. Looking around I made some mental notes of things I wanted to change. The walls would definitely need to be painted. Green might be nice. I had talked to Esme about color choices back in Forks, and while everything was as we discussed – light blue sheets, dark blue comforter, dark mahogany desk and dresser, yet the walls were mysteriously absent of color. Well not exactly – they had been painted a light ivory color. The Cullens knew there were other colors besides tan, white and beige right? They weren't all color blind were they? Actually, now that I thought about it I realized that I didn't know the answer to that question, but it would make sense for their color choices, or lack thereof.

While I planned on moving it to the other side of the room at least the bed was large enough for me. Esme had bought me a king size bed. That made me happy. I was finally going to sleep on something that fit me. And just as Esme said, there was a huge closet off of my and Nessie's rooms, full of brand new clothes. I assumed there were also new clothes in everyone else's rooms, as well. Alice! Hmmm, I'll have to wash everything. As well as I was tolerating the Cullen's it still was not the most pleasant of aromas. Even though the Cullen's scents don't hurt my nose as much as they did when I first phased, I didn't see the point of making myself any less comfortable. I guess I was getting use to them and becoming slightly desensitized. All Vampires smell different, yet all too sickeningly sweet, and unfamiliar Vampires scents still irritate me the most. I'm currently bothered the most by Huilen's aroma in the house.

"Do you like your room Nessie?" I asked from the adjoining bathroom doorway, after I had finished rearranging my furniture. She had a new queen size bed, with purple sheets and a grey comforter, lavender walls, and ivory furniture. Purple and silver accents spotted the room. As I looked around it seemed like everything in there had a slightly older look to it than her old room in the cottage.

"Yes, but why did Grandma Esme give you your own room? Aren't you going to still stay with me?" There was worry in her eyes. She still got the occasional nightmare. But Bella, Edward and Esme had talked to me about the sleeping arrangements and we (they) thought that if we were in new surroundings, not associated with the Volturi's visit, her nightmares would most likely dissipate all on their own. And she was getting older. My sleeping in the same bed with her would not be seen as appropriate for much longer. I told them I would agree to the separation as long as Nessie did not object and her nightmares did not return. I thought they would have talked to her, seeing as they went ahead and given us the two rooms but apparently they had not.

I was going to say something to convince her that this was for the best but when I saw the tears well up in her eyes my resolve crumbled.

"Don't cry Nessie. I'm sure Esme was just trying to be nice and make me feel welcome offering me my own room, but if you want me to stay with you I will. "

"I don't' want you to stay with me Jacob, I want you to share this room with me." Suddenly the vast amount of purple in the room seemed to multiply. "I want you to think of this as your room too, I want it to be our room." She sobbed even more.

"Nessie, this is your room, I'm not taking your room from you."

"My Jacob, it's not my room, or your room, it's our room. Understand?"

"Sure, sure." Maybe I could convince her to paint the walls. "If that will make you happy Nessie, then it can be our room, for now, but can we leave the other room as it is, just in case you change your mind in the future?"

She had stopped crying when I agreed to move into her room but now looked sad again. "You don't want to share the room with me?"

"I always want to be with you, Nessie. You know that. I love you. I Imprinted on you. You know nothing could keep me away from you. But YOU may change your mind someday. There may come a day when you want your privacy, or whatever." Probably soon too, she was going to start looking like a teenage within the next year or two with the rate she was growing. I could put up with purple walls for a year.

"I doubt that will ever happen Jacob, but if it makes you feel better then fine, we can keep that room as a backup. Okay?"

"Sure, sure."

"Good, then I think we should bring some of your things in here too. This is your room, as much as it is mine."

"Nessie, do you think that's a good idea? You don't know how long I will be staying in here."

"That's exactly right, we don't know. It could be a week or it could be forever," she smirked.

"Okay. I'll grab my stuff in a bit."

With that she relaxed and started exploring her new clothes while I began washing mine, I'll have to also wash her sheets, bedspread and pillows at some point. Nessie understood the smell issue, so I won't need to explain when I started ripping everything off of her bed; well, _our_ bed now, I guess.

After I filled the washing machine with the first load of clothes I looked around the bathroom and was pleasantly surprised to see an extra tall shower head above the bathtub. I won't have to stoop to wash my hair. Awesome! The tub itself also looked larger and longer than a standard one. Esme was so thoughtful. I will have to remember to do something special for her later, to say thank you.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Nessie called.

"Ah, there you are Jacob. How are the two of you settling in?"

"We're good Grampy, Jacob is just getting settled in here."

"Yes, Edward did mention the change."

Of course he _heard, _but he didn't break the door down or start screaming at me, so I guess he was okay with me staying in Nessie's room, for now, anyway. I have a feeling our current sleeping arrangements might not be something he was going to allow for that much longer. But for now, she looked like a kid, no matter how advanced her mind might be, and everything was perfectly innocent.

"Jacob, may I have a private word with you, upstairs?"

Or maybe Eddie just asked Carlisle to come get me so he could dismember me without his daughter's knowledge.

This was going to be fun.

"Sure, sure. Lead the way Doc." I grabbed Nessie into a tight hug before I left. Who knows when or if I might be able to do that again. "See you soon, sweetheart." I hope.

Following Carlisle up to his office I was relieved to learn that Edward did not send him. I was really starting to get paranoid. I know I just moved away from home, into a house full of Vampires, but it was Bella and her family. They weren't going to hurt me. I needed to relax. Deep breaths. Come one Jake, you're supposed to be an Alpha Wolf, I told myself. Start acting like it.

"Jacob, thank you for agreeing to talk to me." Carlisle said as he sat behind his desk.

I took one of the empty seats in front of it. It really was like a real office. Medical books filled the bookcased wall behind and to the right of him. Any wall or table space not housing a book was covered in either paintings and photographs or what looked like old fashioned medical equipment, the kind you would seen in a museum or historical movie, but knowing Carlisle, he had probably used them at some point in the past himself. "No problem Doc, what's up?"

"I was wondering how you were doing. I know this must be difficult for you, to move away from your home, family, friends, . . . your Pack. "

"I'm fine," or at least I will be. "I've basically been living with Nessie, Bella and Edward for the past year, this won't be that different. I'll deal."

"Yes, I'm sure you will. But we all want you to do more than just . . . deal, Jacob. We would very much like for you to be happy as you live here with us. Please let any of us know immediately if there is anything you need or if there is anything we can do for you."

"Doc, really I'll be fine." First Nessie now Carlisle. What's next? Is Blondie going to start being nice to me. Ha! Okay that was pushing it.

"Alright Jacob." He said resigning himself to the fact that I wasn't going to be breaking down and crying for my daddy any time soon. "I wonder if you could do something for me, then. If you are going to live with us for the indefinite future I would like to learn a bit more about you so I can treat you, should the need ever arise."

"What do you mean exactly?" I didn't like the sound of this.

"Well, I would like to take some X-rays, an MRI and ct-scan of you human as well as you in your Wolf form. If there is ever an accident or attack and you are injured, as a Wolf, and you are unable to phase back, I would like to know more about your anatomy, in order to treat you better. I would also like to draw a larger sample of your blood to run some tests. I believe it is best to be prepared for all eventualities."

"Doc, you know I trust you with my life, but I am not sure if that's . . . safe. If another Vampire found your results, and found a weakness in the Wolves, then they could find a way to use it against me or the Packs. I'm not sure if that is a good idea."

He seemed to consider what I said for a moment and then spoke. "I understand your concerns. What if I could guarantee you that no one would be able to find anything. I am capable of remembering everything I see, so there is no need for me to write down anything I learn and I will destroy all of the images and test results generated once I have reviewed them."

"That would be alright then, I guess."

"I would ask for one more thing, your permission to share what I have learned with Edward. As you know he holds several medical degrees of his own. Hopefully it will never be needed, but if I am ever unavailable or unable to treat you, he would be able to take my place."

"Sure, sure. When did you want to do this?" Never mind. Even as I was saying it, Carlisle began moving a bunch of machines into position. "So, right now then?"

"If you don't mind, I would like to begin immediately." Why did he have to look so happy?

Four hours later Carlisle said he was done. Finally! I was poked, prodded, weighed, measured, scanned, rescanned, and I don't even know what else. He took samples of my blood, spit, and other . . . _liquids_. I don't even want to know what he was going to do with them. I just wanted to get out of that room and hopefully never have to go back.

When I returned to Nessie's room. . . correction, _our_ room, Edward was there talking with Nessie.

"My Jacob, there you are. What took you so long?"

"He's fine Renesmee, Carlisle was just giving him a checkup." Edward said with a smirk in my direction. Of course he heard everything and knew exactly what Carlisle was doing. Nice and embarrassing. Great!

"Sorry I was gone so long Nessie. How are you doing down here? Did you get the room all set up just the way you like it?"

"No, I wanted to wait for you, so we could do it together. I finished washing your clothes for you, though."

"Thanks, you didn't need to do that. I would have gotten to it eventually."

"Why don't the two of you take a break and go eat lunch. I think Bella cooked some steaks with vegetables for the two of you."

Nessie made a face. Human food wasn't her favorite, but she followed me into the kitchen anyway.

* * *

After lunch I began washing Nessie's bedding, it took awhile but got it all done. In between loads Nessie and I moved some of my things from my room into hers, making it slightly more _ours_ and less _hers_. It was still purple. Moving my stuff in didn't take long, I didn't have much - pictures of my family and the Packs, a few carvings Billy made me when I was younger, and some other knick-knacks. I arranged everything on my bedside table and desk that Nessie insisted I bring in.

Nessie did the same with her things, but had a ton more. She was after all the miracle baby of the family. Everyone was always showering her with gifts. Not that she didn't deserve them. She was worth it.

"What's that?" I asked her. She had arranged a bunch of things atop her bookcase in a way that looked like she was giving preference to whatever she had placed in the middle. She was standing on a chair and I couldn't see what it was unless she moved, but I didn't want to disrupt her more. Whatever it was must have been important or pricey, not unheard of with her family.

"Just something to remember." she said holding up a shell. It was the one I had gotten for her from first beach. "If we get one from each place we live I will help to always remember, my Jacob."

"That's a nice idea, Nessie, but you do know that most places we'll move to over the years probably won't be near the water, like La Push was."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."

"Why are you even worried about forgetting your home in Washington, Nessie? Don't you have a photographic memory like the rest of your family?" I asked her while turning the shell, that she had handed me, over in my hands. She had written "La Push, Washington" and last week's date inside of it.

"It's called an eidetic memory, but yes, I am incapable of forgetting anything. I wanted to do this for you. So you won't forget. I know you won't forget your home anytime soon, but what about all the other places we live? And what about 100 . . . 200 years from now? I know it's not much but -"

Wow. Nessie was so amazing. I didn't know what to say so I just wrapped her in a giant hug.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think.


	12. Legal Matters

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Twelve**

**Legal Matters**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

Nessie and I had been working on a puzzle in the library when we heard Carlisle's voice. "Can everyone please gather in the dining room for a family meeting." His voice was raised barely above his regular speaking voice. The only reason one of us would not hear him, if we were within a few miles of the house, would be if they were in a room where all of the doors and windows were closed, thanks to Esme's amazing new soundproofing in this house.

I started getting up but Nessie grabbed my arm and used her gift to show me that she wanted to finish the puzzle first.

I wish we could. "Come on Nessie, this might be important if Carlisle is calling everyone. Let's just see what's going on, then I'll race you back here as soon as the meetings over," I added with a wink and a smile. That made her frown disappear and she hopped into my arms so I could carry her into the other room.

When we got to the dining room Alice pulled us aside to ask a whispered question. "Jacob I need to know right now if would you like to keep your finances separate or combine them with the rest of the families?"

My finances? I don't really have any money. I didn't see a problem adding my tiny savings to theirs. They've already given me so much, just in the way of clothes, there would be no way to ever repay them.

"You can combine it if you want, I guess."

"Great!" She seemed thrilled. "That will make things so much easier."

"Um, Okay." I have no idea what she was thinking but was not about to get into something with the Pixie by asking a bunch of questions. I've learned that with her it's just easier to go along with whatever she wanted. She always got her way in the end, anyway. Instead I just took an empty seat, next to Bella, placing Nessie in my lap.

"Alice is everything all set to go over the family's finances?" Carlisle asked her once everyone was in the room.

"Just give me a minute to print some things out," she chirped, as her fingers fluttered over her laptop's keyboard. She seemed to be typing something, but her fingers were moving so fast I couldn't see anything. Moments later a bunch of papers were printed and stapled. Huh? I didn't even know printers worked that fast.

"Wonderful, now that we are all here I should tell you why I have called this meeting. I think it is time to go over the logistics of this latest move. First off, here is a key to the new house and garage, as well as a new cell phone for everyone. I have taken the liberty of preprogramming all of our numbers into them. And lastly I wanted to give everyone their new email addresses," he stated as he handed out the keys, phones and a piece of paper with everyone's cell phone number and email address written on them. The cell phone was one of those new smartphones that just came out. Nice! I will have to play with it later. But why do we need keys to the house? In all the times I'd been at the Cullen's Forks house not once was the door ever locked. And this house, like the last one, was so hidden in the woods I doubt anyone would ever find it. "One more thing," he added, "Jazz has new identifications for everyone. Jasper." Carlisle indicated for him to speak next.

Jasper went around the table and placed a manila envelope in front of everyone, including me. I didn't think I needed a new identity for this move. Wasn't I just re-enrolling in school with Carlisle and Esme as my guardians? There must be something else I needed in there. Might as well find out. Everyone was opening theirs too.

Inside I found a birth certificate, passport and driver's license for a _Jacob Wolfe_, as well as a passport and birth certificate for Vanessa Wolfe, with Nessie's picture on it. What?

"Jacob, I see your confusion. You are indeed going to remain Jacob Black for the time being. Those are documents that were made as a precaution last year before our encounter with the Volturi."

Since she was sitting on my lap I could feel her tense up immediately at the mere mention of their name. Hoping to calm her down I gave her a reassuring hug. It seemed to work, but she still was noticeably upset. It got me so angry that even the mention of their name distressed my angel so much. But I would never lose control in front of her. I couldn't risk hurting her.

"We thought you should have those, just in case, for the future," Jasper continued.

That was a lot to take in. Bella and Edward were willing to give me Nessie if it meant keeping her safe. While I was happy that they trusted me, it meant that they had thought they might not have survived our last Volturi encounter, and that they were expecting another one. I couldn't think about this now.

Bella had started talking and was explaining everyone's new relationships to one another. I needed to pay attention so I wouldn't blow our cover.

There were Carlisle and Esme Masen, the parents to their adopted children; high school juniors - Esme's younger brother, Edward Masen, and the girls - Alice Masen, and Isabella Cullen. (Bella wanted to keep the Cullen name for awhile.) And the seniors, Alice's older brother, Emmett Masen, and the Whitlock twins Rosalie and Jasper. Part of the story was that Alice and Emmett were supposed to have been adopted as toddlers so they were given the Masen last name. Edward changed his last name to his sisters, when she got married to seem closer to her after their parents died. That one seemed a little shaky to me, but whatever. Bella, Jasper and Rose were adopted when they were older and chose to keep their own last names.

The Cullens now being the Masens was going to take some getting used to. At least with Bella remaining a Cullen if I slipped and referred to them as the Cullens, to anyone outside of the family, it wouldn't seem completely wrong.

_Why are we changing our last name? _Nessie asked me with her gift.

"I don't know," I answered her honestly, but Edward had also heard her question.

"We cannot continue to have the exact same names as before, while remaining in the same state any longer. Everything today is not only computerized, but increasingly connected through the internet. We should be grateful that we are keeping out first names. There is the possibility that on our next move we can go back to being the Cullens. That is if we decide to go straight to college instead of repeating high school again. But for the time being we are the Masens," he explained

"Is everyone satisfied with their documents, or are any changes needed?" Silence. "All right then, that's all I have for now. Alice would like to begin, then?"

"Thanks Jazz," she said as she popped up and kissed him on the cheek. She was always doing things like that. I've never seen him reciprocate in public, but he must have been different in private, knowing her personality a little better over this past year I don't think Alice would put up with any less.

"Alright, everyone, please open the packets in front of you." When did she . . . ? Oh never mind. "Inside you'll find a new debit card that's linked to our checking account, I'm going to start keeping them set at a constant $5000, replenished daily from the family's savings accounts. I know we use to have them set at $2500 but I was constantly going over. This just seems to make it easier. Don't you guys agree?"

"Alice, I think you were the only one who had that _particular_ problem," Edward told her.

"Oh, whatever," she breezed past his words as if he was talking nonsense. "If you need to purchase anything that costs more than that you'll need to use one of the credit cards. Everyone should find a Visa, MasterCard and American Express in your packet.

Nessie grabbed the large envelope in front of me and dumped it out revealing the same cards in my name that everyone else had, well except Nessie. Not many six year old have credit cards. But why did they give me cards too. I've never seen a Vampire in this family make a mistake before.

"There has been no mistake, Jacob," Edward interrupted my thoughts, as much as i told him not to he always listened to them anyway. "We all heard you when you said you wished for your finances to be combined with the rest of the families. So of course the reverse would be true as well. You're part of this family too."

"I didn't mean I wanted your money when I said that."

"We know that Jacob. But you're a Cullen now, well Masen, technically, for the time being. What's ours is yours."

"But I can't take your money," I protested. I think I had gotten tricked, somehow.

"If it makes it easier for you, why don't you think if it this way - Don't you think it would seem a bit strange, to the humans, if you were the only adopted child of Carlisle and Esme without access to the family fortune?"

He had a point, but I don't see myself needing anything that expensive. Wait, I'm not supposed to be one of their adopted kids, Carlisle and Esme were just acting as my guardians.

I was about to try one more protest but was cut off by Alice. I guess I could just hold on to them and never use them.

"Moving on then. I have already replenished the cash reserves in everyone's rooms. You should all find a box on the top shelves of your closets, each, including yours Jacob," she said glaring directly at me, "containing $100,000 for emergencies." Wow. Okay, I don't see myself winning any arguments regarding money in this family. It might just be best to shut up and not even try arguing.

"Good idea Jacob," Edward again said, replying to my unspoken thoughts. I really wish he would stop doing that.

"Now if everyone will open your financial reports, we can begin going over the latest valuations of everyone's portfolios; including stocks, bonds, retail properties, cars, planes, boats, art, and all other investments. Everyone turn to page two and we will start."

Groans started erupting around the table. I guess this would take awhile.

"Okay, fine, to save time I could just go over the items that have had major changes in valuation or things that need special attention."

"Good idea Alice, we want to leave while Nessie is still young," Emmett jeered.

She gave him what looked like a death glare before continuing. "Carlisle and Esme if you look over pages four through seven you can see that everything looks pretty good. Isle Esme is doing well, but the boat to your island, that you couldn't locate last Valentine's Day seems to have just vanished, even I can't find it. We may need to replace it."

I knew several of them had gone on vacation to Isle Esme before but did she just say they owned the entire island?

"I'm afraid that's my fault. I was a bit careless returning from there with Bella. I might have left the boat unsecured."

"That's understandable, Edward." Carlisle didn't seem angry, well he never seemed angry. I don't know how he did it, always staying so calm. I know if I ever had a boat and someone _lost_ it I would be pretty upset. "We all know you were overcome with worry, learning of Bella's pregnancy, and were not thinking clearly." Oh, well I guess he had a good reason.

"Nevertheless I'll replace your boat. Please just pick one out so I can ordered it."

"Well now that that's settled, let's continue. There are a few paintings, that I have highlighted, that are scheduled for cleaning. Other than that everything looks good."

She then turned her attention to Edward, "As you can see on page nine, Edward, this may be a good time for you and Bella to re-inherit your house in Chicago and family fortune from the _original_ Masens, again. It's been about 50 years since you did it previously and the timing seems right with this latest move and name change.

"That makes sense. Jazz do you think you can contact Mr. Jenks to arrange-" Edward began before Bella interrupted him.

"Edward, I'll talk to Jenks, myself. We don't want him having a heart attack. What would we do if he died?" she said with a scowl towards Jasper. As usual I felt out of the loop.

"Good. Moving on, again. Now Rose and Em, everything looks good," she said as she flipped through page after page in the packet. "There's a couple of stocks I'm moving around but nothing beyond the usual. You might want to take it easy on the gambling though, Emmett.

"Like your one to talk, little shopaholic."

She just stuck her tongue out in response to him.

"Jazz, what do you think about cashing in the bonds and reinvesting them since they are no longer performing as well as before . . . Perfect," she added a second later not bothering to wait for him to actually respond. She must have seen herself selling them in one of her visions.

I guessed that was it so I got up to head back to the puzzle Nessie and I started earlier.

"Just where do you think you are going Jacob? We haven't talked about your stocks yet."

"Alice, I think you made a mistake. I don't have any stocks."

"Of course you do silly. How could you forget so soon? I just asked you at the beginning of the meeting if you wanted your finances included with the rest of the families. As soon as you agreed I took the money from your savings account and put it into the stock market."

How did she get my savings account info? Not that there was much in it, but how did she even get access to it?

"Sorry I didn't give you more specifics," she continued, "but I needed to buy some Keurig coffee stock, and a few others before the prices started shooting up, in order to maximize your returns. If you turn to page seventeen in the packet you will see your new balance. Well not yet exactly, that's what it will be in three months, and seven days."

When I flipped to that page I was amazed. "How is that possible? There is no way you could turn the tiny -"

"Jacob Black, don't you dare doubt me." Yikes! How could someone so tiny screech so loud? That actually hurt my ears.

Edward started chuckling to himself.

"Sorry Alice, never mind."

"Don't do it again." She sent me a look that I guess was suppose to be a warning, before smiling again. "Now at the bottom you can also see the current value of your bike and car, in case you were interested." Then she turned to face everyone at the rest of the table. That's it for me. Anybody else have anything? . . . I guess we're done then." She said not waiting for anyone to answer, just relying on her visions to find the answer for her. Just to be safe I waited an extra minute before attempting to get up again.

"Hey Jake, . . . um . . . can I talk to you? Alone?" Really, what did Emmett want? And why was he acting like he was . . . nervous? Probably trying to get me to let my guard down. What was he up to?

It didn't really matter. I had promised Nessie we would go right back to our puzzle as soon as the meeting was over, and I had no intention of breaking my promise, especially for what would probably be some stupid joke Emmett was planning on pulling. "Can't, I have a puzzle I need to . . ."

Nessie grabbed my hand. "_It's okay Jacob, we can finish the puzzle later. Go see what he wants._

"Are you sure?" I really didn't feel like walking into whatever trap or setup Emmett had planned.

She just nodded and told me to find her when I was done.

"Okay, I'll be right back, sweetheart." Probably covered in goo, or worse. After putting Nessie down on the chair I followed Emmett outside.

With each step it was feeling more and more like a trap. We walked for over a mile into the woods, further and further from the house. Maybe Blondie had set this up, getting me alone so the two of them could take me out. She hated me more than any of the others. Emmett being her mate would readily help her. Me moving in with them must have been the last straw.

I didn't smell her nearby but that didn't mean anything. She could be somewhere downwind. Just as I was about to phase Emmett started talking.

"Jake, I just wanted to let you know that it won't always be so awkward for you." Huh? "You'll get use to the money. They really do think of it as everyone's." He was trying to make me feel better? Part of me felt like this could still be a trap, but I didn't smell Blondie anywhere, and Emmett seemed to be sincere. "Rose, Carlisle, Edward, and Jazz, they all came from money. They're use to always having it. And Alice has always seen a way to get it, and anything else she wants. It's not something that's important to them. They're really not possessive of it, the money's more of a way to make everything else easier." This was getting weird. "But I grew up more like you. Sort of. I mean it was during the Great Depression, but no one had anything back then either." I might be wrong, I probably was, but it sounded like he was actually trying to bond with me. "So you see, I can understand where you're coming from, and I just wanted to let you know that it will get easier over time."

"Sure, sure." I'm not sure he was right about that, but it was nice to hear. "Err, thanks for the talk, but I gotta head back." This was weird.

He was all smiles but then punched me in the arm. "Hey!" I shouted, fighting the urge to immediately phase. Looking over I saw that he was still all smiles. It reminded me of when Paul and I would fight, not really trying to kill each other, more a brotherly love/hate relationship, but no malice intended.

"Yeah, I know, you have a puzzle to finish. Don't disappoint my niece." Hmmm, Emmett might actually be a nice guy . . . for a blood sucker.

"Never," I replied before we jogged back to the house. On the way we made plans to try out his new Playstation 3.


	13. High School

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Thirteen**

**High School**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

"Here we go! Junior year of high school, round two." I said out loud to no one in particular. Okay, so I was just trying to pep myself up. I didn't particularly like the idea of leaving Nessie all day long, while I was at school, but I knew I had to do it. Just like when I would run patrols when Nessie had her lessons.

Everyone that was going to be going to high school had gathered in the garage and were trying to figure out who would be going in which car. There were seven of us, two cars seemed appropriate, pretty easy math, in my opinion. But currently there was a rather lively discussion going on to try and narrow down the list of the five cars everyone wanted take. Edward thought Alice's yellow Porsche was too flashy and would draw attention. Blondie said Edward's Volvo was boring. Emmett wanted something roomy so he wouldn't be squished. His was the only opinion I agreed with. It's hard fitting into Edwards tiny car.

Maybe I could just take my bike and meet everyone there. That would also settle the problem of our equally unappealing odors. Being trapped in a car with me might be pushing it for some members of the family. No use in intentionally making others uncomfortable. We were all getting used to each other's aromas by now. I'm not sure why or how but I was glad, since I apparently will be _stuck_ living with Vamps for the rest of eternity. Not that I minded, I would do anything for Nessie. She was the only one who never had a problem with how everyone else smelled. And I loved how she smelled, which was strange, I guess, considering she was half-Vamp. Even Nahuel smelled slightly unpleasant to me. But then again it would be pretty weird being repulsed by your soulmate's smell.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when everyone suddenly quieted down.

"All right then it's settled." Edward was the only one speaking now. The ladies will travel in Rosalie's convertible, Em and Jazz will come with me in mine, and Jacob can go on his motorcycle. Is that acceptable to everyone?"

Everyone nodded and quickly took off in their assigned vehicles. I guess Edward had been listening to my unspoken thoughts, as always. Why was I still surprised?

"Jacob?" I was about to climb onto my bike, but stopped immediately at the sound of my angels voice. It was Monday, September 17th, and we were already beginning school a week after the official start of the school year. I did not need to arrive late on my first day. But I could never say no to her.

"Hi Nessie." We had already had breakfast together and went over how I would be back around 3-3:30, as soon as I got out of school. She had given me the tightest hug she ever had and didn't seem to want to let go. Bella practically had to pry her off of me. I knew she was going to miss me, almost as much as I would miss her. Except for when I would patrol we had never been away from each other for so long before. And now it would be five days a week for the next ten months. "Did you need anything?"

"No, I just wanted to . . . um. . . well I just. . . nothing really-" tears were starting to well up in her eyes. Oh. My heart sank seeing her cry.

Collapsing down onto my knees so that we were at eye level, I wrapped her in my arms. "Nessie, I won't be gone that long. It will be just like when I had to leave to go patrol around La Push. We'll see each other again in 8 hours. And you will be busy with Esme homeschooling you. Time will fly bye."

"I know, it's just that it is the first day. I . . . I'll be better tomorrow," she sniffled, trying to block her tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you." She turned her face away from me, but I could feel her tears continue to fall as my shirt became damper and damper. "You should go before you're late."

"That's alright Nessie." She looked back up at me. My sleeve was the only thing I had to wipe away the tear that were now staining her perfect cheeks. "You never have to apologize to me."

"Okay," she sniffed. "Just go quickly, so you can come back quickly." She had plastered a fake smile on her face and was pushing me towards my bike. No one else on earth could push me around like she could and she knew it. I was putty in her hands and always would be. And right now she was telling me to go. I know I needed to, and if I didn't go right now, and Nessie started crying again, there would be no way I would be able to leave at all.

"Alright, Nessie. I'll see you soon." After giving her one more hug I did as she asked and jumped on my bike and took off. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and it literally hurt me to do it. I knew she would be fine, but it still broke my heart to know that I was hurting her too, by leaving. Even if it was the right thing to do, I still hated it. But I also knew I needed to finish high school, at least once.

When I arrived at Hoodsport High Edward had my schedule already. He had gotten his from the school's main office with the rest of the family and picked up mine as well.

The school here turned out to be smaller than Forks High School but bigger than the one on the Reservation. Still everyone seem to know each other and since we were starting a week late, got quite a few stares. It was a weird combination of awe, adoration, and fear. We were a group of non-humans, who tended to stand out, being unnaturally beautiful Vampires and a gigantically tall Wolf. I didn't see us making lots of friends here. That was fine by me. The only person I wanted to be with was waiting for me back at home. This was not going to be fun. How did the Cullen's do this over and over?

At least I had already gone through the first half of my Junior year, before I first phased and had to drop out. I already knew what we were learning and wouldn't already be behind, from having missed the first week.

Bella, Edward, and Alice were pretending to be Juniors with me, and with the school being so small we had most of our classes together. Actually, I estimated that there probably were only about 200 students in the whole school, that would mean roughly 50 kids made up the Junior class. No wonder we had all of our classes with each other.

Checking over our schedules I saw that I had English with Alice first, then History with Bella and Edward. Next came Chemistry with Bella and Alice, then all the guys were put together for Gym so I was with Edward, but that was thankfully just once a week, the rest of the week it was a free / study period. Pre-calculus with Bella, Edward and Alice came next and was the only class where we were all together before we broke for lunch. Then there was Music with Edward, that should be interesting, and finally Spanish with Bella and Edward.

School dragged along, but after over six hours the day was finally ending. As soon as the final bell rang the three of us dashed out of the classroom as fast as "humanly" possible. It was a strange first day, the other kids kept staring at me and the rest of the family but no one ever approached any of us. Not a single person even said _Hi_ to me all day long. The students actually created a bubble around us when we walked down the halls, clearing a path that we could go through. I thought it must just be because people could tell there was something wrong with the Cullen's, (well Masen's, or whatever) but they did it to me too when I was on my own. Maybe this was just temporary, new kid stuff. I'll have to ask Edward later.

Making a quick pit stop at my locker I picked up the books I needed for homework, before I raced out to my bike. Having been gone for almost a year I forgot this part of school. Back on the Res we were such a small tribe that there was no changing rooms between classes. It was just one room per grade and only one teacher. She would spread out the homework, making sure that we got no more than three subjects per night. But at this school I had a different teacher for each subject, and was sure they hadn't communicated with each other, cause I had assignments from five of my seven classes, all due tomorrow. Just as I grabbed the last book I saw Edward coming up to me.

_Can whatever it is wait? I need to get back to Nessie._ Why was he even here? Oh right, his locker was near mine, well everyone's locker was close to everyone else's. There weren't that many to begin with.

"It is not going to be temporary, Jacob."

_What's not going to be temporary?_

"The _bubble_ as you call it happens wherever we go." At least he seemed amused by my choice of words, but I didn't see how it was funny. Personally I found it highly annoying "Nevertheless this happens all the time. And since the children here have seen you with us, they seem to be lumping you in with us equally. Most people sense the inherent danger in us and know to keep away. Back in Forks, Bella was an anomaly, it seemed to draw her in."

"I think it all worked out for the best, though, don't you," Bella said, joining us, and placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Why would you want to make friends here anyway, Jake," Emmett slung an arm over my shoulder leading me towards the door. "You have a little girl at home that takes up all of your time and attention."

"You want to say that a little louder, Em, I don't think the whole school heard you." Actually they might have. He started snickering as I shoved him off of me. While we knew he was referring to Nessie, the other students didn't, and it seemed like he thought it would be funny if he gave them the impression I was some sort of _baby daddy_. I did _not_ need people around here thinking that. Edward, Bella, and I all growled at him, too low for the humans to hear, but it was too late. Everyone around us turned and gave me a look in response to his comment. A couple guys chuckled, a bunch seemed impressed, while more than a few girls and guys scrunched up their faces like they were repulsed. "Great! Thanks Emmett."

"No problem, buddy."

"Whatever, I need to get home," I huffed before jogging out to my bike and headed back to my angel. Emmett was right, in a way, I didn't _need_ to make friends, I _did_ have Nessie and she was all I need.

Ten minutes later I was back home, well the new house for the next few years, at least.

"Nessie, I'm back-"

"Jacob, there you are!" Her smile beamed across her face as she skipped down the front steps to meet me as soon as I had climbed off of my bike. Grabbing my arm she was pulling me up to the house. "Come inside quickly. We have a wonderful surprise for you." She seemed so happy now as she continued to pull me by my arm towards her, err, our bedroom.

"Look, isn't this so much better?" She gestured to the king size bed that was now replacing the smaller queen that Esme had first put in the room. But that wasn't the only change. All of the purple was gone, replaced by yellow walls and sheets, and the bed now had my green comforter on it. And then there was the furniture. Nessie's ivory painted nightstand, bookcase and dressing table and my mahogany nightstand and desk had been replaced with ones made of walnut. "Grandma Esme ordered it last week as soon as she heard you would be sleeping in here instead of the other room. Why didn't you ever tell me you were so uncomfortable in my old bed?"

"I wasn't uncomfortable, Nessie, I was with you." Everything was better with her. "And you never saw my old bed at Billy's house. It was even smaller than that. Your bed was a big improvement, even with the two of us squishing into it." She seemed to believe me. It was the truth, but it's not like I would turn down a larger bed.

"What happened to the other stuff?"

She seemed nervous for some reason. "Esme moved it. I told her I could handle it, it wasn't that heavy. And I opened all of the windows to air out the room and -"

"No that's not what I meant, I mean thanks for opening the windows," the smell wasn't even that bad in here. She must have had them open all day. I could barely smell Esme's scent in the room. The fresh paint smell still lingered though. "But I was just wondering where the other furniture is?"

"Oh," she relaxed. "Your desk and nightstand are back in the other bedroom, Grandma Esme's idea. I told her you wouldn't need it," she said while rolling her eyes, "but she insisted. Mine other things are being stored in the attic."

I didn't want to upset her by arguing again, so instead I just told her how much I liked everything. She seemed happy for a second, but then her face fell. What was wrong?

"Jacob, I had a lot of time to think while you were gone and I am sorry if I made this morning harder for you. It won't happen again." She was sad, but at least there were no tears, like this morning. "Now that you are back I would like to hear about your day. I have a million questions for you. I want to hear everything."

Her smile was back, but I didn't know what to tell her. She probably wouldn't be impressed with stories of boring classes and my social pariah status, made even worse thanks to Emmett. Instead I just told her that "it wasn't that exciting".

"Well, I am still incredibly jealous. I wish I could have gone too, instead of being stuck here all day long." I hoped to put an end to the conversation by beginning my homework. As soon as I had reached for my bag she began bouncing up and down on the new bed, preventing me from being able to pull my books out. "Would it be alright if I lived vicariously through you?"

Homework was going to have to wait. "Okay, what would you like to know?" I asked as I let go of my bag.

"Well . . . how was school? What did the building look like, was it big? I bet it was big. Did you make lots of new friends? How were your classes, they weren't too hard were they? Did you have any classes with any of the family? What was -"

"Whoa, slow down Nessie. One question a time." The tears were nowhere in sight and she looked really excited now so I wanted to be able to answer everything for her.

"Alright, what did you learn today?"

_That Emmett needs a muzzle_, I thought to myself, but didn't say out loud. Instead I went the safe route. "Just a bunch of stuff that I already learned the last time I started the 11th grade. The only new thing is that now I have to take a music class. I never had to play an instrument at my old school."

"That's okay. If you need any help, I am sure my dad would be willing to help you," she said as she dumped my books out and opened my Pre-calculus book.

"Maybe. He's doing a great job teaching you and Bella the piano, but I don't have your advanced Vampire brain."

"What about your Werewolf brain? What is that like?" she asked, as she began thumbing through the pages.

"Not sure if it is any different than when I was human. Going back to school now is the first time I'll get to test it, I guess." I hope it's improved. If I do end up living multiple lifetimes with Nessie I would hate to start forgetting things about her, our time together, or my family that I will be outliving. I had already lost my mom when I was younger, and I will eventually lose the rest of my family – Billy, Rachel, and Rebecca. Since I'll continue phasing to stay with Nessie, I'll outlive all of them, and their kids, and grandkids. . .

"Hey Jacob," Alice said while simultaneously knocking on the door.

Huh? "Um . . .did you want to come in?" I asked to be polite, but really didn't want her, or her too sweet scent to.

"No thanks, I just need you to put these on," she replied from the doorway, while holding up a pair of shorts and scrunching her nose, my scent being equally as unappealing to her as hers was to me – probably exaggerated now in such a confined space..

"Alice, you already stocked the closet here with more clothes than I have ever had in my entire life. I don't think I need any more."

"These are different, they're for when you phase."

"What?"

"Just put them on and meet me outback," she said as she turned and left.

_She could have at least said please, _Nessie thought to me with a smirk, while touching my arm.

Not that I minded but I could see my homework being delayed probably till after dinner. Maybe I could read the English assignment over dinner?

"I'll meet you outside in a minute." I said, to Nessie then quickly changed into the shorts as soon as she left the room. They didn't seem like clothes that Alice normally picked out. I didn't see a designer label in them, or any label for that matter. And they were rather plain, simple black cotton that went halfway down to my knees. What was Alice up to? And why did I need to go outside for Alice to see another thing she got me? Her Vampire vision is perfect. She could see me in these shorts in complete darkness.

"Okay Alice, I'm here." I said as I jogged out to the backyard. "What's up?" Bella, Edward, Emmett and Jasper were all outside, too. What was she planning?

"Wonderful, Jacob, now turn into a Wolf and you will see."

"And why exactly did I have to put these shorts on if you are just having me come outside and take them off?"

"I never said to take them off, I just asked you to phase."

"Okay, one set of shredded shorts coming up." I quipped, just before phasing.

"Yes, perfect, I knew it would work!" Alice exclaimed.

"Hey, how did you do that?" Nessie's eyes were wide with wonder. "Jacob look," she said while pointing behind me. Huh? "The shorts are still on you." No way that was possible, but I had never known Nessie to lie. All the same she didn't really think I was going to look did she? I couldn't see my backside in Wolf form, I would end up looking like some stupid dog trying to chase its own tail. I just shook my head _No_.

"Alice how did you get them to grow with him?"

"Simple, Bella. They expand, using hidden panels in them that release when he phases. The waistband is a super stretchy elastic. I had to guess on his exact size, but they don't look too tight. How do they feel Jacob?"

Honestly they felt fine, not uncomfortable at all, but how did she expect me to answer while I was a Wolf?

"He says he feels extremely comfortable, Alice," Edward answered for me, with an amused expression on his face.

"You're a genius Alice!" Why did Bella care so much about new clothes for me? The more I thought about it the more ridiculous it seemed. A Wolf in shorts? What if a human saw me? They would know something was up. Normal wolves don't go around wearing pants.

"Normal wolves don't grow to be larger than a horse either, Jacob." Edward pointed out.

I didn't see what the big deal was. What was wrong with what I was doing before this. When I needed to phase I would go behind a tree or bush, take off my clothes and phase. Easy. Why do I need special Wolf clothes? Sure there were special circumstances when I would need to phase quickly, shredding my clothes, but I could always get more somehow.

"Okay, Jacob. You can change back," shouted Alice. Why was she yelling, I'm right here and my hearing was better as a Wolf, not worse.

I phased back, and briefly felt a warm feeling where the shorts were. I was use to an expanse of heat radiating through my body when I changed back and forth but this seemed different somehow, more localized to where Alice's shorts were. Oh Crap. I had to quickly duck behind the nearest bush in the backyard. "Alice, what the hell?"

Emmett just burst out laughing.

"My Jacob, are you alright?" Nessie asked worriedly, even as Edward was in front of her covering her eyes with his hand.

"Yeah, Nessie, I'm fine, just stay over there. Could someone run inside and get me some pants, please." Two seconds later Jasper returned with some new clothes for me.

"Alice, what happened?" Edward was seething. At least it wasn't directed at me this time.

"I don't know. It looked like the shorts ignited in flames. Jacob how high does your body temperature rise when you phase?"

"I don't know. Why would I?"

Stay right there, I'll be right back." She dashed into the house and returned a second later some sort of digital thermometer. Why would she ever need that? No one in the house could get sick that we would need such a thing.

"What is that Aunt Alice?" Nessie asked.

"It's an infrared thermometer, I borrowed it from Carlisle's office. I need to check to see how hot Jacob gets when he phases back and forth, if I am going to develop a pair of shorts that actually work, without risking setting him on fire. I can just point it at him, from back here, and press the button, while he phases. What are you waiting for Jacob, . . . go, . . . phase."

Seriously, cant she ever say _please_, first, before barking orders? Oh, whatever.

"Wait, Jacob." Edward screeched. "Alice you need to get a clear shot of him to use that. It won't work if there is a bush in the way."

"That's my cue," Emmett said as he grabbed Nessie and started carrying her into the house. I would have to thank him later. "Come on little lady, let's go inside, I don't think either of us want to get another look at Jake's junk again. At least not anytime soon," he smirked down at her. Nope, I'm going to kill him.

"Oh right, good idea. Nessie, honey, I'll send him in when I'm done," the pixie chirped.

"I think I'll go in too." Bella said while running back into the house. Jasper followed.

As soon as Nessie was back in the house I took off the clothes Jasper brought me and phased, waited 30 seconds and phased back, quickly getting dressed again. I wasn't embarrassed or anything if Alice and Edward saw me naked, or not, but it was just weird.

"Did you get what you needed?"

"Yes, but I am not sure what I am going to do now," she frowned. "Your body temperature went over 500° for a couple of milliseconds. That's why the shorts went up in flames. I am going to have to find a material that can withstand those temperatures and still be thin enough to fit under your clothes."

"Sure, sure. Well if you don't need me anymore I'm going back to Nessie," I said as I headed back into the house. As interesting as that was I had a lot of homework to do. And I didn't really care if Alice could make shorts for me or not. But I guess it gave her something to do. Living forever must get boring after awhile and you start coming up with ways to entertain yourself. I've already seen the rest of them devise some pretty weird things to occupy their time. Will I eventually get so bored I start inventing unneeded things, too? No, I will have Nessie. She is all I will ever need. As long as she's happy I won't need anything else. I'm so lucky to have had Imprinted on her.

As I walked to my room today's events made me realize I hadn't washed any of my clothes since moving here a week ago. Even though Alice had stocked the closet with more clothes than I had ever had in my entire life, I noticed, this morning, that the laundry basket was getting kinda full. Taking a u-turn I followed Nessie's scent and found her reading in the library with Bella, After checking in with her I figured now was the perfect time to start some laundry. I wasn't really procrastinating. I could do my homework while the washer was running.

Except when I went to grab it I found that the basket was empty. It didn't smell like any of the Cullen's had been in the bedroom so Nessie must had started a load.

Nope. The washer was empty. So was the dryer. I checked the closet. Had she finished it already and put it all back?

Nope. Not there either. What was going on?

"Nessie?"

"Yes Jacob," she replied not bothering to raise her voice any higher than I had. Sometimes it was nice living in a house with only non-humans. Everyone could hear everyone else clearly, even if all they did was whisper (and if the doors were open and the soundproofing was not obscuring it). Then again the smell . . .

Going up to talk to her in person I asked her if she knew what happened to the clothes in the laundry basket.

"Laundry basket?" Nessie have me a quizzical look. "There's no laundry basket in our room, Jacob. There is a donation bin. Esme asked me for it after lunch. Everyone's old clothes are on their way to Goodwill."

"But -" I started to object. They were new. I had barely worn anything in there.

"You don't think Aunt Alice would let us wear something more than once did you?" she chuckled as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There's a new batch of clothes for you from Alice on the dining room table. She didn't want to upset you by bringing them in our room. You know, because of your whole Vampire and Wolf scent issue."

I didn't even know what to say to that. Vampires were so weird.

* * *

Thanks for reading. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and (I think) one of my funniest. What did you think?


	14. Home School

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Fourteen**

**Home School**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

Nessie had spent most of the past month, while I had gone back to high school, dividing her time between home school lessons with Esme and hanging out with Huilen and Nahuel. I didn't really like them, I mean they EAT people, so what's to like, really? But Nessie thought it was important to be nice to them. They came all the way here for her birthday, and to tell us about the Volturi, . . . and they saved her from them last year, so I guess they weren't the worst monsters on the planet. And, not that I didn't appreciate what they did for us (Nessie) but was happy when Nahuel and Huilen left last week.

They were there for Nessie so I had put up with them for her, even if that technically meant I avoided them the entire time they were here. They didn't come here to see me anyway.

As soon as I came home each day from school Nessie would meet me, excusing herself from them when they had been here, and we would go to our bedroom, where I would do my homework and study and she would hang out with me. Nessie was actually a great help, and even ended up helping me learn how to play the guitar for my music class. I can't say that I was getting any good at it, but was very grateful that Esme soundproofed the walls.

It was currently the first week of October and I had been trying to play a new song on this _stupid_ guitar for the past hour. All I needed to be able to do was just get through a song, _just once_, for class on Friday. I had not been able to make it all the way through it in its entirety yet without making a mistake though.

"Jacob, here let me show you. You just need to move your fingers like this." She grabbed the guitar out of my hands and proceeded to play the section of the song, that I had been struggling with all afternoon.

"I didn't know Edward taught you how to play guitar too, I thought it was just the piano."

"He didn't. I've just been watching you do it for the past two weeks. And you have been playing that same section over and over. I don't think I would be able to play anything else though." She said before hiding her face behind her hair.

She was embarrassed? I should be embarrassed.

"I bet you could, Nessie. You are amazing, you know that?" I said as I slid her hair out of her face so I could look directly into her eyes.

"I don't think so, I really -" she tried moving her hair back.

"Sorry sweetheart, could you hold on for one minute?" I wanted to reassure her but needed to grab my ringing cell out of my bookbag. The caller ID said it was Billy. Was there a problem at home? Was he okay?

"Dad. Hey, what's up?" I tried not to sound too panicked.

"_I just called to congratulate you son." _

"What? Why? What did I do?" I didn't remember anything.

"_You became an Uncle today, and I'm now a proud grandfather. Rachel had her baby about an hour ago. They're both doing great. And Paul should be back to normal shortly__." _

"What happened to Paul?"

Billy was laughing on the other end of the line so much it didn't seem like he could talk. I took the moment to look over at Nessie, who had heard everything. The news seemed to bring Nessie out from behind her hair. She must have been as excited by the news as I was. "_He'll be fine. He acts so tough all of the time, but he lost it at the hospital. It was really funny seeing the kid freak out. _

_So does this mean I'm an aunt?_ she asked me quietly with her gift.

"Hold on dad," I said into the phone before turning to Nessie. "Well . . ." I didn't know how to break it to her. But I didn't have to.

"Why not?" she asked reading the look on my face.

_You're their uncle. And you are my Jacob and I'm your Nessie. Your other half. We're two halves of the same whole, aren't we? Completing each other. Always orbiting the other . . . like satellites._

"Your right Nessie. Or should I say Aunt Nessie." Wasn't I the one who, just last year, said that Imprinting was more of a connection for a Wolf to someone than a wedding ceremony?

Nessie was happy and congratulated Billy herself. Then Billy ending up talking to me (us) for over an hour before he said he needed to go. But he promised he would email, well actually he would find someone who knew how to email me, some pictures of Rachel and her baby. She and Paul had had a son, which they named Jeremy Paul Black, soon to be Lahote. Rachel and Paul still hadn't gotten married yet, but Billy mentioned that they planned to when they had time in the future. He sounded a bit irritated, like he wasn't sure it would actually happen. I could understand that. He wanted his daughter to get married to the man she had had a kid with. It made sense on a parental level.

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Grandma Esme was continuing my homeschooling, just like she said she would, right where the rest of my family had left off back in Forks. I believe she was beginning to run out of things to teach me at a High School level. We had already gone through all of the course books my family had. She wasn't really even teaching me anymore either. Most recently I would just read the course books, or we would switch off reading to each other. Afterwards we would have a discussion on the material. I had perfect recall so there was no need to study anything or go over something more than once. Occasionally I would need to ask her a question when I would come across an unknown word (normally it would turn out to be some sort of slang), or on the rare occasion when I would not understand something. This mostly happened when there was a cultural reference that I was unaware of, having been so sheltered, and only being a single year old. Thankfully Grandma Esme came up with some interesting solutions to these problems.

I had wanted to move on to college coursework, but Grandma Esme had another idea for now. But she did promised that in a year or two it might be possible for me to actually go. In the meantime, she wanted me to study humans to help me gain some cultural references "among other things". She didn't go into further detail on that subject and I thought it was best not to push, judging by her tense demeanor when she had said it. She didn't think I was ready yet to go out in public, but thought that I might be in a few months.

For now, she suggested I watch television. Not all day long, sitting on the couch like Uncle Emmett sometimes did when there was a sporting event on, but intermittently throughout the day. She asked me to study a variety of TV shows – sitcoms, drama, cartoons, movies, documentaries, reality TV (which she was quick to point out were not the same as documentaries and not really based on reality), games shows, etc. . .

Grandma Esme was always around to ask questions when I came upon something that was perplexing to me. Oddly I found television more confusing than advanced calculus. That at least made sense. Math was logical, there was a right and wrong answer. Television characters seemed to be bumbling their way through life, making the same mistakes over and over, never learning anything, even on the shows where the characters were suppose to be highly advanced scientists or geniuses. The entire point of some television shows seemed to be to see how much one person could, not only screw up their own life, but the lives of everyone around them, and then laugh at the mess they made. I'm not sure what I was supposed to be learning from this, but it made the time go by quicker once Huilen and Nahuel left, until Jacob returned from school. I loved my Grandmother but needed other people to talk to.

It was becoming easier, little by little, over the past month for me to exist with Jacob being away from me, for so long, at school, in a way. It still hurt, but I was dealing with the pain it caused me, better. I tried to not let him see it after that first day. I could tell that him knowing how upset I was only made things harder for the both of us.

Now that Huilen and Nahuel had gone back to South America I spent the remainder of my time, while not studying television programs, when my Jacob was at _real_ school, reading. I made it my goal to read every book in the house.

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

Nessie and I were laid out on our bed, while I did my homework. Damn, I hated it.

I think Nessie was starting to get frustrated with me since it was taking me a ridiculously long time tonight. She must have gotten bored because she climbed on my back and started braiding my hair. I didn't keep it very long these days so there was not much for her to do, and it ended up sticking up in tiny points, I must have looked very strange. But it made her happy, and kept her occupied while I tried struggled to translate a story from English into Spanish. Even though I had taken Spanish, before back in La Push, it hadn't been my best subject. This time I wasn't completely lost like I use to feel in class, on the Reservation, and seemed to remember most of the stuff I had learned before. But this new stuff wasn't easy and I was getting frustrated.

"Alright Jacob, try these on," Alice said, suddenly appearing in our doorway, tossing me a pair of shorts. That was quick. I assumed it would've taken her more time to find a fabric I wouldn't set on fire when I phased. Whatever. A homework break seemed like it would be a good idea right about now. It was so frustrating I was even willing to go with Alice without a fight.

Ha! Ha! Ha! She started laughing hysterically. What was so funny? "What happened to your hair?"

Oh . . . the braids Nessie put in. Since my hair was so short they released with only a couple sweeps of my hand. Alice stopped laughing so I must have gotten them all out.

"You're one to talk," I snickered, pointing up at her own lopsided spikes.

"Yeah well I make this work," she snapped back before telling me to meet her in the backyard in three minutes . . . "or else."

"Nessie, do you mind staying here, just in case these shorts are not as fire proof as Alice thinks they are?" She just nodded. "Thanks, I'll be right back, sweetheart," I said as I gave her a peck on her forehead, before jogging out.

Once outside I saw that we were the only two out here this time. Good, I really don't need to give everyone another peep show. Slipping behind a bush, I quickly changed into the shorts. "Okay Alice, I'm ready. You sure this is gonna work this time?"

"Jacob Black, are you doubting me . . . again?" Great! I pissed off the psycho pixie.

Hmmm? Did I need to roll my eyes? Or would she be able to see herself freaking out at my reaction to her annoyance? I rolled them anyway. And for a little added bit of fun said, "Well normally no, but after last time -" I couldn't finish my sentence having to duck whatever it was that she just threw at me. "Okay, okay." I guess she wasn't in a joking mood anymore.

Less than a second later I phased into a Wolf, the shorts felt like they were still there, Alice gave me a nod and I phased back. I didn't feel the same warmth like last time and when I looked down the shorts were right where they were supposed to be.

"Wahoo, never doubt me again," Alice started jumping up and down.

"Great, so do you want them back now?"

"No keep them. I'll make up a couple dozen more to start you off with. Wear them under your clothes, so you won't have any more accidental exposures. I'm thinking I can make some as cargo shorts for the summer, boxers for under your pants in the winter, and maybe even a few as bathing suits . . . "

I was going to mention that the last "accidental exposure" was entirely her fault and was also the only time it happened in front of Nessie, I was not too happy about that. Neither was Edward and Bella for that matter. But I had already pissed Alice off enough for the day, and I had wasted enough time, I wanted to get back to Nessie.

Alice was still talking about different styles and colors, but I stopped paying attention. "Sure, sure." I cut her off, "I need to go . . . homework isn't going to finish itself. I'm sure whatever you make will be fine. Thanks." I blabbered as I took off running back into the house.

When I arrived back in the bedroom, Nessie was right where I left her, but my Spanish assignment was completely translated.

"Nessie, did you do this?"

"Well it seemed to be giving you trouble so I thought I would help."

She was so sweet. "Thank you, but doing it for me, isn't really helping. I actually need to learn this."

"Oh. Alright, is there anything I can do to help, then?"

She was wonderful. We spent the next hour finishing my homework, together. She even ended up assisted me with math after the Spanish assignment was completed.

Everything was going great, but I was starting to feel . . . hot? Well hotter than usual, anyway.

"Jacob, are you sweating?" she asked, fingering my cheek. When she pulled her hand back I saw that it was wet.

I reached up and touched my forehead. It was damp. Huh? Was I getting sick? I haven't been sick since I started phasing.

"Grandpa Carlisle, can you come here please." Nessie called. Three seconds later he appeared in the room.

"What can I help you with Renesmee?"

"Its Jacob, he's sick." Nessie seemed to be panicking more and more as the seconds passed.

"Nessie, calm down, I don't think I'm sick. I feel fine, just hot."

What if something was wrong though? The last time I felt this hot was when I had a fever, right before I phased for the first time. Maybe something was happening to me, again. I've been living with Vampires for an unprecedented amount of time. When I originally phased it was just from the scent of the new Vamps around La Push. What if something else was happening to me? What if the next time I phased I was unable to change back, and was stuck as a Wolf forever?

"Jacob, did you hear me?" Carlisle was speaking but I hadn't heard a word.

"Sorry Doc, what did you say?"

"I was wondering if there was anything that you have been doing differently? You may just be having a reaction to something. Have you started using a new deodorant or laundry detergent? Or something along those lines?"

"No Doc, nothing like that."

"What about your diet?"

My cooking skills were limited. It was a wonder Billy and I hadn't starved to death from some of the concoctions we attempted over the years. "Just what Bella and Esme make," I replied. The two of them seemed to be competing with each other to see who could outdo the other. Not that I was complaining. I've never eaten better. At least not since my mother passed. That seemed to satisfy the Doc so he moved on to other possibilities, convinced my friend and his wife would not do anything to poison me.

"Have you come across anything in the woods recently?"

Nessie wasn't scheduled to hunt for another few days so I hadn't been out either and told the Doc so.

"Alright. . . What have you done today," he asked, seemingly lost for new theories.

There wasn't much to tell. Esme made me waffles for breakfast, then I went to school, ate the crappy cafeteria food for lunch, more school, when it was over I came right home and Bella made me some nachos. Then I started my homework. That's it.

Don't forget about the new shorts Aunt Alice made you," Nessie added.

"New shorts?" He had heard about her first attempt and asked how this latest version fared.

"She was successful," Nessie told her grandfather.

"Jacob, are you still wearing them?"

"Yeah, why? You don't think she did something to them, do you?" She wouldn't do anything to me, would she? She did get pretty made at me for doubting she could make them fireproof in the first place. But I don't think she would still be mad enough to do anything.

"Alice, could you come here for a moment please," Carlisle said in the same calm voice he always used.

"I'm here, and am offended to even think that you would suggest I would ever do anything to harm Jacob."

"Of course not, Alice. No one here thinks that. We just need to rule the shorts out. Could you tell me what materials and chemicals you used to create them."

It turned out she used something called Kovenex, which was a material that ironing board covers, firefighters suits, fire blankets and a bunch of other things were made with. It was great for stopping things from catching on fire but unfortunately the Doc figured out that, in my case, since I was naturally so hot, it also trapped my body heat in, making it unable to radiate off of me and reflected it back. That caused me to overheat.

A few minutes after taking the shorts off I felt completely fine and my body temperature returned to normal.

"Don't worry Jacob," Alice said, taking the shorts back. "I _will_ find something that works, don't give up hope."

"Sure, Alice. Whatever" I really didn't care about the stupid shorts, but it was Alice, so I wasn't going to say anything to her.

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

** "**Grandma Esme, I have a problem."

"What is it sweetheart?"

"Well, you know how I have been spending the days reading in between studying human interactions on the television and our course work?"

"Yes dear. Do you have any questions about what you have read so far?"

"Not exactly, it's what I have not read that is giving me problems. I have found that some of the most interesting books are the medical books in Grandpa Carlisle's office."

"You're reading his medical books?" she looked concerned. "I was unaware of that. I thought you were reading the books in the library. Did you happen to ask him if that was alright before you started reading them?"

"No, I did not think to even ask. Why would it be a problem? Will he be mad at me?" I know they were old, so I had been extra careful handling them, as to not do any damage.

"I'm sure he won't mind, but you should ask in the future. It might be better to wait to read some of those books until you are a bit older."

Older? So she wasn't worried I would break his more delicate books. "Why do you think I need to wait?" What was going on. First she didn't want me studying college level material, until after I completed her "social training", now she doesn't want me reading some of the books in the house.

"Nessie, darling, it's just that some things might be a bit too advanced for you."

"Yes, but isn't that the reason that I am reading everything? So that I can learn more."

"That is true dear, but some of his books contain information that may be too advanced for you. Or you may find some things disturbing or uncomfortable. Other things, in the older medical books are no longer relevant and are now known to be incorrect or have been disproved. It might be best if you went through everything in those books with Carlisle."

I guess that made sense. "Alright, but can I interest you in a compromise? I will hold off on reading his books until he can go over them with me, if you will teach me Greek and Latin in the meantime." I was learning so much. Unfortunately many of the words in his newer books were in Greek and Latin and there were entire older books completely in those languages.

"Well Nessie, that might be a very acceptable compromise, but unfortunately I do not speak Greek or Latin. But how would you like to learn it together?"

"We could do that?" That could be so exciting.

"Of course, it would be fun. You can learn almost anything online, nowadays. Would you like to start tomorrow?"

I didn't even need to think about it. "Yes please."

"Wonderful."

The next day Grandma Esme googled "how to learn to speak, read, and write Greek" and a bunch of websites came up. After a bit of searching we found one that looked promising and began.


	15. Christmas and Jake's Birthday

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Fifteen**

**Christmas and Jake's Birthday**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

It was Christmas. My _second_ Christmas. Last year, just a few days after my first Christmas was our infamous Volturi encounter. I was not sure that this time of year will ever be a happy time for me. It brought up too many unpleasant memories and I had been experiencing more and more intense nightmares leading up to today. Even my Jacob could not keep them away completely.

Rationally, I know the Volturi were gone and were not coming after me anymore.

Why was I feeling like this?

My first Christmas had been spent celebrating over at my Grampy Charlie's house, with my mother, father, Jacob, Leah, Seth, Sue, and of course Grampy Charlie. Jacob had given me a Quileute promise bracelet. It's beautiful and I have only ever taken it off when Jacob needed to adjust it, every time I grew and it became too tight on my wrist. He wove it himself, and told me it meant that he promised to always be there for me. I knew already, that he had Imprinted on me, so I also knew he would always be there for me when I needed him, but it was nice to have a tactile object to remind myself with, especially on the rare occasions when he was not around, like when he had to patrol or was at school.

But why are we celebrating this year? I know last year we did because of Grampy Charlie; Christmas seemed like a big deal in the human world, if what I saw on the television was any indication. But from what I could tell my Vampire family have never gotten into it, with last year's exception. I understood it was a religious holiday but my family did not seem too religious. Grandpa Carlisle's father had been a pastor, but that was more than 300 years ago. No one attended any religious services, or were completely sure if they had souls anymore after their change to immortal beings. My father hoped he did, and seemed to believe my existence pointed towards the positive. Still I didn't see the point in celebrating something that no one believed in, observed, or even recognized on any other day of the year.

On the other hand there was Jacob to think about. The Quileute people had adopted the Christmas holiday and traditions over 150 years ago when they were first _taught_ _religion_ by white missionaries. He loved Christmas so, for him, I was going along with it. I hadn't realized it would bring to the surface such terrorizing memories that were usually sequestered to my dreams. After this was over I might have to talk to him about next year. Maybe we could tone it down a bit, or skip celebrating all together.

No, I don't think I could do that to him. I did not want to take this holiday away from my Jacob, too. He was already spending his first Christmas away from his family. I overheard him asking my grandfather about the possibility of going back to Billy's and celebrate with his father, sister, and Pack, but he told Jacob that it was an impossibility at this time. It was the first anniversary since our meeting with the Volturi which might inspire unwanted visitors. My family had doubled up on patrols on this side of the Olympic National Forest, and the Wolves did the same around La Push. It was thought best that we should not have our scent anywhere near Forks or La Push, right now.

Jacob hadn't said anything to me, but I knew it upset him. Since we left he and Billy talked on the phone regularly and last week mailed each other Christmas cards. He told me his sister, Rebecca, had been doing that since she first moved away to Hawaii years ago, but it wasn't the same. Jacob was . . . is, so close to Billy. He had taken care of his father for years, looking after Billy, all on his own after both of his sisters left. Rachel was back now to take care of him, along with Paul, but I know this was still hard for Jacob. I'm sure it's hard for Billy too.

Christmas was just one day out of the year, I knew I could struggle through it for my Jacob. My father didn't seem so sure. He hated seeing me so upset; not that I allowed myself to show any outward signs of my discomfort, but my father knew, of course he could, he could read my mind. I was worried that Jacob would also know, that he would feel it through the Imprint bond we shared. Which he did, but when he asked what was wrong, I had my excuse ready and told him I was just worried about getting everyone the perfect gift. My lie worked. He was reassured, and even tried comforting me, assuring me that my family would love whatever I got them.

My father tried reasoning with me over and over, throughout the weeks leading up to today. He had tried to encourage me to tell Jacob the truth, but I disagreed, again and again. I wanted, no, I _needed_, to give him this. Even if he could not be with his father and sister he would have a Christmas, no matter how much it troubled me. I could handle it.

It was time to face this day. I had been laying in bed for the past twenty minutes, just staring at the ceiling, trying to work up the courage to go join everyone. It was weird waking up alone, but Jacob must have gotten up earlier. That was good. I didn't want him to see me panic.

After getting dressed I found him already sitting on one of the couches in the living room, around the tree, with everyone else. He didn't look too happy, but he was trying his best; ironically for me. I didn't want to celebrate, and he wanted to be with Billy. We were quite the pair. I felt so bad for him. But we were putting on a brave front for each other.

"Merry Christmas Nessie. Would you like to open your gifts?" asked my mother. She, and the rest of my family, were all waiting for me to open theirs as well. I knew how irrational they thought I was acting. I could see it on their faces, my father had clearly told them what I had thought.

"You are not acting irrational," my father whispered to me, hiding it in a good morning hug. "It is very compassionate of you to do this for Jacob but I don't think he would want it if he knew how upsetting it is for you."

_Then don't tell him. He doesn't realize how my subconscious mind is tying Christmas to the Volturi attack. _I don't even know why. I can distinguish, on a rational level, the fact was that they are not connected, they just happen to have taken place in a short space of time. _I don't want to ruin today for him. _I thought to my father so Jacob would not hear.

Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper had set up a tree by the television last night, and Aunt Alice has gone overboard as usual with decorations. There wasn't a surface in the common areas of the house that had been left unadorned. Luckily she had only ornamented everything yesterday, so I didn't have to live with the house decorated like this for long; and knowing my family it would all be gone tomorrow.

My family all got me some small gifts – books clothes, and jewelry. They were all very thoughtful. But Jacobs present was amazing. I could appreciate how he was truly an artist. He had carved my entire family out of some sort of light wood, possibly Birch, to mimic their pale white Vampire skin. Each were holding an item that represented them. Grandpa Carlisle held a stethoscope, Grandma Esme had a paint brush. My father was holding a mini piano in his upturned hand, and my mother was cradling a stack of books. Uncle Jasper wielded a Civil War era blade. Aunt Alice's was the most amusing, she had a handful of credit cards in one hand and shopping bags in the other. Aunt Rosalie had some different car parts in her arms, while Uncle Emmett was carrying an assortment of sports balls. The figurines were the perfect match to the set of Wolves Jacob gave me for my birthday.

In turn I gave him, and every other member of my family, a book. Boring, I know, but it was all I could handle. The one I bought Jacob was on vintage cars. Now I wished I had put more thought into his gift. He never said anything but after seeing how much effort he put into mine, I felt horrible. But I just couldn't bring myself to think about anything to do with this time of year, too much. Every time I thought about Christmas, and in association, finding the perfect gift for Jacob, and the rest of my family, all I ended up thinking about was the Volturi and how they came to kill us all, last year. Time was running out so one day, last week, I had asked Grandma Esme to take me to the bookstore in town while everyone else was at school. I got all of my holiday shopping done in one trip.

Night after night, for the past few weeks I had woken up screaming from my nightmares. Not even Jacob sleeping next to me could keep them away. Normally him being there was enough, but now not only was it not working, but it was taking more and more time each night for him to get me to calm down enough so that I was able to fall back asleep. I think that's why he wanted to make Christmas so nice for me. If only he had known it was having the opposite effect. I have a feeling that if he was not so distracted by spending his first Christmas away from Billy, he would have seen, through our bond, that this was not what I wanted. But he hadn't, and I hadn't corrected him. He needed Christmas more than I didn't. We would both be fine from the loss of sleep, eventually.

A couple of weeks after New Years the nightmares receded enough that I no longer woke nightly in screams. It was so nice to be able to finally sleep through the night again. Of course the nightmares were occasionally still there, but they were not as bad, not as long as I had my Jacob with me. I remembered them all, thanks to my Vampire brain that never forgot anything. I wondered if that was why my subconscious would not let it go, even when my conscious mind knew the danger was long gone?

It was something to think about, at least.

* * *

My mother had told me that Jacobs birthday was on January 14th. He was born in 1990, so that meant that this year he was turning eighteen years old. Even if he wasn't completely human anymore eighteen was a big milestone in humans lives. Not that he was technically aging anymore, either. Jacob had done such an amazing job on my first birthday, and since I had pretty much ruined Christmas for him, even if he didn't see it that way, I wanted to make his birthday wonderful for him. I had to, I had taken him away from his family and giving him a thoughtless Christmas gift. I needed to do something special.

Last year Jacob spent part of his birthday at La Push with his family and Pack celebrating. He never told me it was his birthday, and I had only found out about it, when I asked my mother where he was. When he returned to the cottage later that night, she gave him a small present, and said it was from all of us, but it didn't seem like it was enough. My Jacob was immeasurably important and special to me, he deserved so much more. I understood my family were still adjusting to him being with us back then, but it surprised me that even Aunt Alice didn't jump at the chance to throw him a party last year. This year would be different. It would be a truly Happy Birthday . . . I hoped.

I was able to get everyone on board, except Aunt Rosalie, of course. Since she loved planning parties I had asked Aunt Alice to help me plan it but she got that look in her eye, and told me that she would take care of everything. What had I done?

Aunt Alice ended up buying a massive amount of decorations, that she requisitioned Uncle Jasper and Uncle Emmett to set up in the main living room of the house. She also enlisted my father, Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme to cook the food. And my mother and I were to be in charge of the cake. I made it according to Aunt Alice's instructions, while Jacob was at school and my mother was going to frost it as soon as she returned home. It was three layers and rectangular in shape. Aunt Alice had drawn the design and given us size and color requirements that we just needed to follow.

How many people had Aunt Alice invited that she required three people to be able to handle that much cooking, not to mention the giant cake? Surely not just Jacob and myself. Aunt Alice had refused to tell me who else she invited though. She said it was as much of a surprise for me as it was for him. That was fine with me though, as long as Jacob was happy. I know his family could not come here so it must be some of his classmates from school. I would like to meet them. I just hoped she did not invite the entire school. But, knowing Aunt Alice, it was a possibility.

My Grandma took me shopping for some items I needed to make the perfect gift for Jacob earlier in the week. Since Christmas had passed I was finally able to get the Volturi out of my head and I was able to concentrate on the perfect present for Jacob. I bought him a collection of frames and placed pictures of all of his Pack members in them. It was tricky but, after watching some online instructional videos, figured out how to Photoshop images of them in both human and Wolf form, into one picture. And I also framed a large photo of La Push that encompassed some woods, his house and some of the surrounding area. I had taken all of the pictures when Jacob and I were staying on the Reservation before our move here. It seemed obvious now that we should have hung up some pictures of his home and friends long ago. The only pictures he had with him here were of his family. And they were old. He kept the only three pictures he brought with him in his nightstand drawer. Every once in awhile I would see him take them out, to look at them, but he never talked about them. One was of his father with a woman whom I assumed was his mother, another I think was of his sister Rebecca and her husband, and the last was of him, from when he was younger and his two older sisters. He must have been about 9 or 10 in the picture. He looked so young. It surprised me when I first saw it, how small and skinny he was when he was little, before he became a Wolf. He was so cute, but he looked so sad in the photo. It must have been taken around the time of his mother's death. Just looking at the pictures made him sad sometimes. I hoped my present didn't make him any more depressed. I wanted him to be happy, more than anything else.

Jacob's birthday fell on a Monday this year and thanks to Aunt Alice everything was all set for his surprise party. It was my job to keep Jacob occupied after school while my family set up the house and my mother frosted the cake, which with their speed should not take too long.

When everyone returned from school that day Jacob wanted to do his homework right away. Perfect! All I needed to do was keep him in our room.

"Hey, Jacob, I'm going to grab a snack while you start your homework, want anything?" I didn't want there to be any reason he needed to leave the room.

"Um, sure, whatever you pick will be fine. Thanks sweetheart." He smiled at me but seemed a little grumpy. I could understand that. It was his birthday after all and as far as I knew, no one in the family had mentioned anything, in order to keep the party a surprise. Maybe it should not have been a surprise party. I didn't mean to upset him so, but the party would begin in less than an hour.

He gave me a weak smile again, as he dropped his bag on the bed. I ran to the kitchen where my mother was already at work frosting the cake. I grabbed a bowl of fruit, a bag of chips and some bottles of water. Since it would not take my family long to set everything up, maybe I could get them to speed things up even more.

_Mom, would it be possible to start the party sooner? _I thought to her with my gift.

"Why is that, dear? Are you so excited you can't you wait an hour?" she whispered back to me with a smirk, knowing we needed to be quiet so Jacob wouldn't hear.

_I can, but I don't think the same is true of Jacob. I think he feels like we forgot his birthday, or possibly have no interest in celebrating it. I am not sure exactly what it is but I can see he is upset about something. Did he say anything to you today?_

"No, actually he has been rather silent all day long. You go keep him in your bedroom, I'll see what I can do and will call you when everything is ready."

"Thanks, mom." I answered out loud.

Just over a half an hour later she called us into the living room.

When we entered we could see the decorations were set up. Aunt Alice had all of the normal furniture moved out of the room and three tables, covered with food were arranged around the room. There was also a separate table full of presents.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked as we walked into the living room.

"It's a party."

"I can see that Nessie. But what is it for?"

Was he kidding? "It's for you, Jacob."

"Why are you throwing me a party?" He genuinely seemed confused.

"Don't you know what today is? Did you forget? Jacob, today is your birthday. Surprise!"

As soon as I said that my family emerged from all over the house. Aunt Alice brought out the cake, my mother had done a wonderful job with the frosting, it looked just like Aunt Alice's drawing.

"Happy Birthday," everyone shouted.

Behind my family, Jacob's Pack came out, followed by Billy.

"Dad?" A huge smile broke out over his face as Jacob scooped me up into his arms and ran over to his father. "How did you get here? I thought it was too risky right now."

"It was a lot of sneaking around, and we had to be extremely careful. The Cullens arranged everything."

"It's just for the party though, Jacob." Grandpa Carlisle added. "Your father and Pack members will need to return home in a few hours."

"Wait, how is this even possible? I didn't catch a hint of your scents on the way in, how long have you been here?" Jacob questioned.

I have been home all day and also had not smelled them. What was going on? I'm sure it was all part of Aunt Alice's plan to make it a surprise for me as well, but this was extremely impressive.

"Yeah, we arrived about an hour ago, the Cullens kept us in the van all the way here from La Push," Embry gruffed, clearly upset about being cooped up in the vehicle for so long. But that didn't explain why I had not smelled them.

"We had to go through a car wash before leaving the Res, then when we got here, we still couldn't leave the van until we were inside of the garage and all of the doors were closed." Quil added.

"And I am afraid that while you are here you will need to remain indoors the entire time so your scents stay contained," my father told them.

Quil held his nose in jest looking over to my family. "Hey we can deal with your scents if you can deal with ours, especially if it is the only way we get to see Jake."

After Jacob had a chance to talk to his father and Pack a bit I thought it might be a good time to see how he was doing. Thankfully he didn't seem so irritable anymore. "So, am I forgiven?"

Jacob gave me a quizzical look. "What are you talking about, Nessie. I have nothing to forgive you for."

"We kept the party a surprise from you, didn't you think we forgot about your birthday?"

"No that's not why I was upset, well not exactly. I know your family doesn't celebrate birthdays, aside from yours, Nessie. I wasn't expecting anything from them. They didn't need to do this for me, even though it is great to see my dad and Pack. But I see my Pack all the time, sort of, when I'm a Wolf, and I talk to Billy at least once a week on the phone. Today just got me thinking that someday, they all will be gone and without your family near La Push there won't be any new Wolves. Soon I will be the only Wolf. I'll be alone."

Oh, how could I be so thoughtless? We had talked about this before, but it was like my issues around Christmas, significant days just brought things up that seem to be fine other days. At least they seemed so on the outside, but they were never really gone, just hidden below the surface.

My present! Oh no! There is no way it will go over well. Maybe I could hid it before he opened it and get him something else later.

"Time for presents," Aunt Alice chimed. Argh! Why was she always doing that?

"Come on Nessie." Jacob said as he grabbed my hand and led me over to the gift table. "Let's see what I got. Will you help me open everything. It looks like everyone went overboard."

"Jacob, about that, . . . maybe you should wait . . . and open everything later, like tomorrow. It's a long drive back to La Push. You father is probably tired."

"Nonsense, Nessie. I want to see my son open his gifts. That's why I'm here." Billy had overheard us talking and commented while rolling over to us. "Here son, open mine first." Aunt Alice had set up a chair just for Jacob to sit in so I pulled one up for myself right next to him, seeing that there would be no stopping the gift giving.

"Thanks, Dad." Jacob tore off the wrapping paper of his father's gift to reveal what looked like a hand carved box that Billy most likely made himself.

"It's a memory box, so you won't forget your home." I know he was trying to be sweet and kid around with his son, but it just made Jacobs face fall. "There are already a few things in there, but don't open it now. Wait until you are alone," Billy added, while shooting a look over to me.

I wondered why? Maybe it contained Tribe secrets or something.

"Um, Jake here open mine next," Seth practically threw the next present at him trying to get everyone out of the awkwardness.

Jacob opened the rest of his presents without any more negative emotional ensnarements, but that was only because he still had not opened mine yet. But now it was the only one left. Time was up. _Jacob, please don't open that, let me get you something else, _I thought to him with my hand on his cheek and tears in my eyes.

Jacob pulled me onto his lap and wrapped me in a giant hug. "Nessie, if you got me something I am sure I will love it. Why don't you want me to open it? You must have thought I would like it or you wouldn't have gotten it for me in the first place."

_That was before I knew . . . _I could tell I was projecting sadness and worry along with my thoughts but there was nothing I could do to hide it.

"Why don't you let me decide, okay?"

I just nodded, and hoped he wouldn't get more upset after seeing the pictures. But when he opened the box relief washed over me as soon as I saw the smile that broke out on his face.

"Nessie, thank you, this is perfect." He gave me another huge hug, but this one wasn't meant to be comforting, it was given in gratitude of the gift.

Before long all of the food was gone, including the cake, (Wolves sure can eat a lot) and it was time for Billy and the Pack to leave. They said their goodbyes to Jacob, giving him hugs and well wishes, promising each other to find a way to see each other again in person soon. Billy, Seth and Quil even gave me a hug goodbye, but I could tell Quil was eager to get back to Clair.

"Well . . . should we go find a place to put all of my new photos before bed?" Jacob asked me after they were gone.

"Sounds like a plan." I could tell he needed a distraction. We ended up clearing off an entire wall in the bedroom that up until now was just covered in some random art that Grandma Esme had picked out because it matched the bedspread. Neither of us had any emotional attachment to it, so that wall seemed like the perfect location. And this way Jacob could wake up each morning and go to sleep each night with a reminder of home.


	16. Books and Suits

**The ****Full ****Moon**

* * *

**Year Two, Chapter Sixteen**

**Books and Suits**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Grandma Esme and I finished learning to speak, read, and write Greek last week. It had helped that Grandpa Carlisle spoke the language fluently and we had been able to go to him when either one of us had any questions. Online learning was great but there wasn't a lot of options when you had more advanced questions than the videos, and online teachers, were unable to answer. Grandpa checked our progress weekly and before long said that, not only was he very impressed with our accomplishments but that he thought I had learned enough to be able to read any of the books, including his medical journals, he had in the house. But I wasn't sure if I could completely believe him, he was my grandfather and probably a little biased. I thought my pronunciation still needed some work and my Grandmothers spelling of a few of the more obscure words was rather spotty at best.

Grandma Esme was only learning Greek to humor me, and didn't see any practical use for it so after a month I think she wanted to be done. I had been continuing to study hours after she had finished each day, and decided to continue becoming more fluent in Greek on my own. Learning new languages (at least the Grecian language) didn't seem to be something my grandmother particularly enjoyed, more like something to pass the time, while not working on a renovation project, so collectively we decided to move on to Latin.

Since Latin is no longer a spoken language Grandma Esme and I were rather limited online. There were a bunch of videos available where a variety of people gave their best renditions of what they thought Latin might have sounded like, but they were all different, with different interpretations, accents, and dialects, and it just ended up confusing me. In the end Grandma Esme and I decided it would be best to stick to just learning how to read and write it, for now. If Latin turned out to be as uninteresting for my Grandmother as Greek had been I planned to go to my grandfather, on my own, for further instruction.

After mastering English, Spanish, French, Quileute and Greek (mostly) I thought Latin would be easy. But after a week's study and not much to show for it, I concluded that not being able to hear the language spoken was somewhat of a challenge for me, since I had previously learned other languages by mostly listening to people speak them. Going to my grandfather was an option . . . I think. Having been born the son of a preacher, over 300 years ago, I know Grandpa Carlisle had been taught Latin, so I know he could read and write it, but was unsure if he also spoke it. If not, perhaps one day I might come across a friendly Vampire that was old enough to have actually spoken the now dead language, and they could give me an auditory demonstration.

While Jacob and my family were at school, and we were not studying new languages, Grandma Esme was continuing my _social training_, as she put it. Last week she told me that she finally thought I was ready to practice interacting with new people, other than just with my family and the Packs. She believed I needed practice interacting with normal humans. I hoped this meant I could actually leave the house soon, not just for the occasional errand, here and there.

We had begun training for this months ago, at home, by watching a variety of television shows. It was interesting. We would watch a show or movie together and then discuss what happened; the major themes, character reactions to given situations, tension points, social dynamics between the characters . . . the list went on and on.

She explained that although things were often overly dramatized on television, for ratings and peek viewer interest, I could still begin to learn what humans cared about, prioritized, and thought about in general.

Grandma Esme explained that as Vampires we wanted to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, so unlike on television shows, where the characters seemed to encourage each other to make spectacles of themselves and get into fights in public, whether verbal or physical, _our_ goals were to always try and avoid those types of situations, at all times, while still appearing to conform to social norms.

Diffusing possible _abnormal_ situations and side stepping problems was to be my goal. Along with small talk, determining appropriate topics for conversation, interacting with others, recognizing the feelings of others, demonstrating empathy, decoding body language and facial expressions, understanding community norms, and determining appropriate behavior for different social situations, along with a variety of other things. Humans seemed more complicated than I had realized.

She believed I was ready to try something she said would be simple, just to begin with. I currently looked like a seven year old, so one day while the family was at school, Grandma Esme drove the two of us to a playground around thirty-five miles away, to see how I would do near other children.

Everything was fine. I had been more than passable as a three year old when playing with Claire in La Push. Playing with other children was easy, not exactly enjoyable, but simple enough. The rules had been the same as when I went to interact with the children of La Push -watch my speed and strength, only talk out loud, and no drinking blood.

Everything went fine and after three more trials, where she saw that I was able to successfully navigate and incorporate myself into the world of children, Grandma Esme agreed to further _assessments_ in a variety of other situations.

We were still moving along extremely slowly, in my opinion, but I understood her caution. There could be no mistakes, whether it be something large, where I fed on a human, or small, and used my disproportionately strong half-Vampire strength and accidentally hurt one of them. Even unintentionally revealing too much information about the family was unacceptable.

The next phase in Grandma Esme's instruction had me accompanying her while going grocery shopping. It was interesting. I was interacting more with adults, finally!

It was not at all how I expected.

One day I tried talking to Jacob about my experiences.

"Jacob, you should see them, it's ridiculous the things humans choose to get upset about. Grandma Esme told me the depictions of humans I witnessed on television were over exaggerated, but I don't see that to be the case. The children on the playground acted more mature than some of these adults."

"Of course they are Nessie. They're human; and humans are not perfect. Most people are just trying to do their best. They don't have multiple lifetimes to redo things, learning more and more as they go, until they get everything seemingly right. They don't have advanced Vampire brains that can see everything, from multiple points of view all at once, and remember everything, while simultaneously considering all possibilities of every potential outcome and conclusion. Humans are flawed and imperfect. But it's what makes them human. It's not bad, or wrong, it's just different from what you are use to, sweetheart."

Oh! "Do you think I am being too hard on them?"

"I don't know. From what you've told me, Esme seems to think so. What would you say if I came with the two of you the next time you went out? That way I could see for myself."

"I could just show you Jacob." I said, extending my arm to use my gift.

"You could Nessie, but I was kinda looking for an excuse to go with you out in public." he said as he put his hand in mine, anyway.

"Oh, alright." I replied, still holding his hand, entwining our fingers, but not showing him anything. "Perhaps this Saturday then."

"Sure, sure. And try to remember most of your family would give anything to become human again. There's nothing wrong with not being perfect."

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

"Jacob, wake up." Alice said as she ripped off the sheets from Nessie and me.

"What the Hell . . . Alice? What time is it even?" I glanced at the clock and saw that it wasn't even five in the morning. I was about to start screaming at Alice but saw that Nessie was still asleep. "NO! No, no, no to whatever you want!" I said to her, in a whisper. "Go away, and don't come back for at least two hours."

"This is important, Jake. You need to get up now! Make sure Nessie stays in bed, I'll meet you in the backyard." She looked serious.

Wait! Did she say something was important? Was Nessie in danger? That woke me up completely. I jumped out of bed and ran outside.

I couldn't smell any strange Vamps or see anything threatening in the area. What was the danger? "Alice, what's wrong?" I was getting anxious. If Nessie was in danger I needed to stop whatever it was, NOW!

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong Jake. I have another pair of shorts for you to try on."

"Are you kidding me? Shorts? Again? Alice I was sleeping." My voice got louder with every sentence until I remembered that Nessie was still asleep. "I'm going back to bed. Don't ever wake me up again for something like this."

I was halfway up the backstairs when Alice appeared in front of me and poked me in my chest. "Jacob Black, you put these shorts on right now! I have been working on them for the past nineteen weeks, four days, seven hours, and thirty-two minutes. I finally came up with a solution and I need to make sure it works. That means I need you to put these shorts on RIGHT NOW. Is that too much to ask?" Even though she couldn't see me she never gave me a chance to answer. "No, I don't think so. Now take off your clothes, put on the shorts and phase, before you make me upset and I do something to you that will make Renesmee VERY upset with me. Do you understand?"

I breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm myself down. As much as I did not like being threatened, I knew Nessie would not like us fighting. Not that we would really hurt each other but it would still upset her, and I never wanted to do anything to upset my angel. That meant that I would have to suck it up and try on Alice's shorts. "Okay, fine, give me the damn shorts and let's get this over with." I snapped at her while snatching them from her hand.

After changing into the shorts, I phased into my Wolf form, and back again. No problem so far. But last time the same thing happened. It wasn't until hours later when I started overheating. "Happy? Anything else, or can I go back to sleep?"

"No that's it for now, you can go back to sleep, or whatever, and hopefully everything will be fine."

"What do you mean by _hopefully_?"

"Oh, get over it. You'll be fine. The chances of something going wrong again are miniscule. I've thought of everything this time. And, hey, what's the worst that can happen? You start sweating again and take them off. Right?"

"Fine," I growled at her. "Just never wake me up again this early unless there is an _actual_ _emergency_."

I tried falling back to sleep but couldn't and instead attempted to not wake Nessie with my tossing and turning. Since I had been deprived of at least four hours of sleep, thanks to the annoying little Pixie, I was more than a little cranky that day. So when Edward wanted to have Nessie begin her studies a few hours earlier than normal, cutting into our play time I didn't object. In fact I was thankful. On any other day this would have bothered me, being deprived time with my Imprint, but not today. Today me being away from her till I calmed down was better . . . for her.

I needed something else to do though. I needed to get out of the house. Being cooped up in a house full of Vamps wasn't helping, and I wanted to be in a better mood when Nessie was done with her lessons. She deserved it.

I was heading towards the library, figuring Bella would be there and I was right. But before I even got close enough to see her she must have smelled me coming.

"Hey Jake. What's up?" she said before I even walked through the door.

"Nothing much. I need to get out of here and was wondering if you wanted take your bike out with me like we used to?"

"Where's Renesmee?" she asked as she closed her book and set it on one of the many end tables in the room.

"Having a music lesson . . . I think" Edward had written a bunch of things on a whiteboard that he had placed in front of his piano. I'm pretty sure I saw a bunch of music notes among the other things written.

"So you're bored," she smirked.

"Something like that."

"I thought her piano lesson wasn't until four."

"It's not, but Edward thought that she might have some trouble with it," at least that was the excuse he gave her, "and wanted to get an early start in case they had to go over things more than once."

Bella gave me a look, knowing the unlikeliness of that. I just shrugged. I'm sure her husband would tell her the truth later.

"Come on, it's cloudy out, you don't have to worry about blinding any humans with your creepy glitter skin." I teased.

"Okay," Bella gave in, putting the weathered copy of _Persuasion,_ she had been reading, back on the appropriate shelf. I thought she would have been happier. She had already read that book, by the looks of it, about 100 times.

After running to the garage we jumped on our bikes, the very same ones she rescued and helped me fix up in my garage three years ago.

"Let's head to the highway, to that abandoned . . ." I started to suggest a place that I thought would be perfect, but she must have known where I was referring to and took off before I could finish.

"Hey, that's cheating!" I yelled after her.

After a few hours my stomach decided it was time to head back.

"Something wrong? Why did you stop?" Bella asked, pulling up beside me.

"Nothing, I just want to get back to Nessie. She must be done with her piano lesson by now."

"So you're hungry." Bella could always see right through me.

"Kinda, but this was great. Thanks for coming with me. We should do this more. Like every week or something while Nessie is with Edward," I suggested. This really put me in a better mood. I forgot how much fun it was hanging out with Bella.

"I don't know. Motorcycles aren't that much fun for me anymore . . . you know since . . ." she said, leaving off the fact that she was now a Vampire. "Running is just so much more . . ." she did it again. "Maybe you can go with Nessie when she is big enough."

I didn't say anything right away, too in shock at the suggestion, but I know my eyebrows shot up at even the thought.

"What?" She looked confused.

"What do you mean, _what_? You would really let your daughter ride a motorcycle?"

"I'm not saying tomorrow Jake, but she's half-Vampire. She won't break . . . and I trust you. Besides, you deserve to have a little fun too," she smirked "Until then Jazz has a bike. You could ask him if he wants to go riding sometime."

"Err. . . thanks for the suggestion but that's not really the point, Bells. I miss hanging out with my best friend."

"I thought Renesmee was your best friend now?"

"She's my imprint. My reason for existing, YOU are still my best friend."

"At least for the next 6 years, you mean."

She had a point, yet I rolled my eyes. "So if you don't want to ride your bike anymore is there anything I can talk you into doing with me?"

We thought of a whole list of things and agreed to hang out more, like we used to, during Nessie and Edward's music lessons.

* * *

"Guys, Charlie and Sue asked us to meet them in forty-three minutes. We need to leave right now if we are going to make it there on time." Bella called out to us.

"All right, we're coming, we're coming." Nessie smiled. She looked so nice all dressed up in her little dress. It was late February and still a bit chilly outside, so even though the cold did not bother her, she needed to cover up the dress, she was wearing, with a sweater, for appearances sake. It was a pretty blue flower print that matched the color of my tie.

Yes I was wearing a tie. And a suit. But it wasn't by choice.

Alice had put me in a dark grey suit and blue tie, even after I complained about how uncomfortable it was. She had insisted Nessie and I match. I also had on a boxers version of the special shorts she made me. Her latest version of them turned out to be fine. Almost good even, not wake me up at 4:30 in the morning good, but at least there would be no more close calls, accidentally exposing myself to Nessie. But the shorts, combined with the suit was too much. I was not used to wearing so many layers of clothes anymore. My body temperature ran so hot as a Wolf, I had striped my wardrobe down to the bare essentials.

"Too constricting" was all I had said when Nessie asked me what was wrong. Of course she saw the unhappy look on my face but I didn't want to start a fight with Alice over it, I could deal with it for today.

Alice knew what was going on today but she wouldn't tell us. Whatever it was she was not happy about it. Of course she had seen whatever was going to happen in a vision but would not give us any details, just that it was good and there was nothing to be worried about.

She wasn't the only one keeping secrets. Bella had gotten a phone call from Charlie twelve days ago and just said he had great news that he wanted to share, but wanted to do it in person. Whatever _it_ was apparently meant that we needed to dress up. I still don't see why that made Aunt Alice upset though. I thought she would have been happier playing dress up with everyone. Well not the rest of the Cullen's, whatever was going on Bella, Edward, Nessie and I were the only ones invited. Maybe being left out was what had made Alice so upset.

Bella called again. Her voice sounded impatient. Did she know what was going on?

I picked Nessie up and started to carry her out of our bedroom. She really didn't need to be carried but I just wanted to get this, whatever it was, over with, so I could get out of this suit faster. On the way I saw how we looked in the mirror. She currently look like a nine year old and got bigger every day. Even though her growth continued to slow down she was still growing fast and came up just above my waist now when we stood next to each other. If she kept this up she probably would be taller than Bella. That wouldn't be too hard. Bella was only 5'4".

After a forty-two minute car ride we arrived at a courthouse in Tacoma, WA. What were we doing here? It was a beautiful sunny day, but luckily there was underground parking that connected to the main building. As soon as Nessie, her parents, and I stepped off of the elevator a familiar smell hit me. My Pack was here, too?

It was fairly crowded in the building and I could not see them yet. I was glad Alice had insisted Nessie go on an extra hunting trip yesterday, when I returned home from school. We weren't scheduled to go again until tomorrow.

"Jacob, there you are, we've been waiting for you." Seth shouted over to us from across the room. Wolves being taller than the average human meant that I could see, over all of the people in the lobby, that my Pack was dressed up as well. I don't think I have ever seen Leah in a dress before, except at Sam and Emily's wedding. But she was miserable then, she actually looked happy today and was . . . smiling. Hmmm, what was going on?

"What took you so long? You would think you would want to be on time for this." What was Quil's problem?

"Well we're here, now. would someone like to tell us what we are doing here?"

"No one told you?" Seth looked shocked, I guess we were the only ones kept out of the loop.

"No," Bella stepped in to the group of Wolves, with Edward right behind her. "Where is Charlie? He said just to meet him and Sue here and he would tell us when we got here."

I turned and asked Edward, "Do you want to clue us in? I'm sure you've heard it by now in someone's mind."

"I think the happy couple would like to let everyone know themselves. Seth only found out by accident and his Wolf mind spilled the news to the rest of them. It was supposed to be a surprise for all of us."

"Hey, I was doing a really good job, keeping it to myself for the first few days. It's not my fault you're all in my head all the time. Luckily Jake wasn't a Wolf, at the same time, the past few weeks, as any of us, so it's still a surprise to the Cullens."

"There they are. I see them." We all turned towards Sue's voice as she ran over to us, dragging Charlie behind her.

"Hey, dad," Bella started in after giving them both a hug. "What's going on?"

Charlie took a deep breath and began. "Okay, well as some of you already know, or have been able to figure out, last month I asked Sue to marry me. And she said _Yes!_ And . . . well, we decided that since we have both been married before, and our children are all grown; that we didn't what to have another big wedding ceremony. We were going to just elope at a local justice of the peace, but once Seth learned of our plans he insisted on tagging along. So here we are. The Judge, up on two, is a old buddy of mine, and you guys are the only people we would really want to share this with, so what do you say we get this show on the road?"

Charlie was never a big talker but Yikes! That was um, _brief_, even for him. I hoped Sue knew what she was getting into.

"Nice, honey!" Sue sighed. "Very romantic." She grabbed his hand and they headed for the elevator. I guess she was used to it.

"Come on guys, we're going to miss the elevator."

"Leah, calm down, we can get the next one. I don't think we can all fit in one anyway," I called to her, but she had already ducked into it, beside Quil, just as the doors were closing. Then I turned to Seth as a thought occurred to me. "Hey, do you think she realizes she is about to become stepsister to a Vampire?"

"Probably hasn't hit her yet. I'm excited though, I didn't ever think I was going to be an Uncle. Don't tell Leah I said that though."

That stopped me in my tracks. How weird would it be to, possibly, have Seth as an Uncle-in-law, someday . . . maybe.

"Hey, Seth, not that I don't love Quil, like a brother, but do you know why he came to your mother's and Grampy Charlie wedding? Is Quil closer to either of them than I was aware?" Nessie asked as we waited for the next elevator.

"Um, no Nessie. Embry was suppose to be here, too. It was going to be the whole Pack." Seth was looking worried, now.

"Really?" I asked. "So what happened then?" Was something wrong?

"I don't know Jake. Embry seems like he has been going through some stuff lately, I guess. He hasn't mentioned anything to us though, but we can all see it. Leah was going to talk to you about it later."

"Yeah, I've been noticing the same thing, but never saw anything in his thoughts when he was phased." I wondered if everything was okay at home, with his mom? "I guess I should have another chat with him later."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think.


	17. Nessie's Second Birthday

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Seventeen**

**Nessie's Second Birthday**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

September 2, 2008 was the first day of my senior year of High School, _finally! _Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper graduated, well graduated again, last year. I bet Nessie enjoys getting to hang out with them, during the day, while I'm gone. Esme is great – nice, kind, sweet, - very motherly, but I'm sure it could get a little boring being just the two of them cooped up in the house all day long.

I wished I could join them. Being away from Nessie was difficult. Maybe I should ask Alice and Jasper how they handled being apart all day long. I know it made sense that they be in different grades at school, so that all of the Cullen kids were not pretending to be the same age. At least Jasper wasn't stuck in school any longer. He seemed to have the least control of himself around humans, so it was probably best that he leave as soon as possible. And Alice did appear the youngest of all the Cullens.

It made sense but it must still be hard on them. Emmett and Rose, and Edward and Bella got to be in the same grades as each other so they shared classes and graduated together. How did Alice handle having to attend high school so much more than everyone else in the family? I heard she sometimes would even start as a Freshman while everyone else were Sophomores and Juniors. She probably loved it, viewing school as a giant fashion show, anyway.

Maybe I could talk to Esme and Carlisle. They were used to being apart a lot too, what with the Doc's work.

Things were different this year with his work schedule. Last year he was stuck working the day shift at the Family Clinic, since he was the new guy. I would have thought they would want to give the newbie the worst shifts, which for anyone else would have been the night shift, but apparently daytime was the busiest time around here. I wasn't really paying too much attention but I heard it had something to do with a lot of work accidents and days being the Clinic's busiest time. (You would think someone would looked into improving working conditions or something.) The Doc mentioned that he would have a little more flexibility this year and get some night shifts, it wasn't a hospital so it wasn't open 24 hours a day, but since there was no emergency department in the area, it stayed open till 10pm most nights, longer if necessary. I couldn't see how it would really matter that much to Carlisle though, since he didn't sleep. And Esme didn't care what time of say she saw her husband, day or night it made no difference to her. But it meant more company for Nessie during the day, and I know that would make her happy.

So now it was just Bella, Edward, Alice and me still in school this year. We had all of our classes together, again. Well, each class had at least one other of us, from our group, anyway.

While it was fun getting a chance to hang out with Bella the rest of school seemed the same – boring. None of the kids talked to me or the others. I didn't really mind, but Bella still had not gotten use to it. She thought people would eventually warm up to us and we would all start hanging out together, like had happened back in Forks, but it hadn't happened here. It was probably for the best. Why get attached. She had Edward, I had Nessie. Who needed friends.

Okay, so maybe some friends would have been nice. But I just didn't see it happening, so didn't worry.

On a bright note, I seemed to be doing better in school. Humph! It was probably because I didn't have any friends to distract me, or that I was no longer preoccupied with girls. Or maybe it was because I had gone over everything I had learned each day, with Nessie, after school. Or . . . who knows. All I know was that I finished my Junior year with all A's and B's.

The first two weeks of school were dragging on but then it was Nessie's second birthday. Her family and I planned her party for after school that Thursday. I was planning on surprising her with a giant present I made. Okay, so it was not actually gigantic, but the amount of work I put into it was huge.

When Bella, Edward, Alice and I returned from school that day the rest of the family had already decorated the house for Nessie's party. Esme had agreed to keep her busy in the library while everything was set up. I just needed to get her present that I hid it in the garage. Hopefully Blondie didn't mess with it. No, she wouldn't dare touch it. She knew it was for her Niece. While she had no problem screwing with my things, she wouldn't do anything destructive that was meant for Nessie. She seemed to love that little girl almost as much as I did.

When I took it out of its hiding place I saw that it was fine. Whew! After wrapping it up, and carefully carrying it into the house, I set the box on a table by the sofa in the living room, so my angel would just have to lift the cover. It would ruin the effect I was going for if any pieces got disturbed underneath.

After Nessie opened the gifts from her family she turned to me, looking expectant. For a second I considered teasing her and acting like I didn't get her anything. No, I couldn't upset her. I put in so much work into making her happy and didn't want to ruin it by joking with her even a tiny bit. I just ended up tilted my head towards the box next to her. I know she had seen it right away, when she first entered the room and was just playing with me, too. Nessie currently looked like she was eleven years old, now, and sometimes I think she enjoyed acting like it. But it was cute, just like her.

As she followed the directions written on the card to lift the box lid straight up, the bottom boxes sides fell away revealing a chessboard. The pawns, which were what I was worried about getting knocked over were still positioned neatly on it.

"Jacob that is an amazing piece of craftsmanship." Jasper was the first to start drooling over it.

"Wow! This is beautiful. Wherever did you find a chessboard decorated with Wolves?"

"I didn't buy it in a store, Nessie. I made it." It was all wood and I had carved, in relief, Wolves howling at the moon, on all four of the side panels of the chessboard, to accommodate (and hide) some hidden storage drawers.

"You made this yourself? That's . . . amazing," she said echoing Jaspers assessment. "This must have taken you forever. When did you find the time?"

"I did a little bit here and there over the past year."

"Not like the kid had anything better to do," Emmett chuckled, while pulling Rosalie to his side. I think he was expecting a kiss or something, but instead she smacked him on the head. I wished I could have hit him too.

"You worked on this all year?" Nessie asked, ignoring her annoying Uncle. "Jacob, you did a wonderful job. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," she grinned at me.

"I'm glad you like it, Nessie. The Wolf theme isn't too much is it?" That was the only thing I was worried about, already knowing how much she liked chess.

"No, that's my favorite part. Thank you so much, my Jacob!" she exclaimed, jumping on my lap and giving me a hug. _But where are the rest of the chess pieces? I don't want to upset him by asking. This must have taken him so long he didn't have time to finish. It's okay though. I can use the pieces from one of the other sets. _

Nessie still had her arms around me and unknowingly sent me her thoughts through her gift. I started chuckling softly to myself but I guess it was loud enough for her to notice.

"Oh no, Jacob. Did you just hear me?" She looked embarrassed. It was so nice of her to want to not make me feel bad, but I also didn't want to upset her either.

"I did, honey, but it's okay. And don't worry, it _is_ finished. Do you remember the Wolves I made for you for your first birthday?"

"Yes," she answered but still looked confused.

"And the figurines I carved of your family that I gave you at Christmas?"

"Of course I do. They're all in our bedroom on my nightstand, you see them all the time."

She still wasn't getting it. "Well . . . they are actually the chess pieces for this." I pointed to the half empty board.

"Really? Oh, of course. Eight Wolves and eight members of my family. Jacob that's amazing. You've been planning this for well over a year then?"

Hmmm, even her family seemed impressed. Except Edward, who had seen it all in my mind, since I first thought of it over a year ago. He rolled his eyes. I guess he was upset that his daughter liked my gift better than the sheet music he got her.

"Anything for my sweetheart. Here let me show you." I quickly dashed away and got the 16 chess pieces from the nightstand. "I wanted to keep the couples together and use them as pieces that fit at least one of the chess piece characters."

Placing the pieces on the chessboard, I explained my reasoning for each one. "Edward and Bella are the King and Queen, which was the easiest of course since they are your parents, Carlisle and Esme became Bishops since the Docs father was a minister; for awhile I considered making them the King and Queen since they are the acting heads of the family. But this works too, I think."

"I agree, this works much better." Nessie assured me. Everyone else was looking on as I talked to Nessie. Most seemed happy, but a few even seemed impressed.

"I made Alice and Jazz the Knights because of Jasper's military past in the Civil war." He looked pleased when I said that. "That just left Rose and Em as the Rooks. You know I don't play chess and don't know what Rooks are exactly, but I thought it must be the pieces that looks like castle turrets, right?"

She just nodded so I continued.

"That's good. I think it worked out perfectly since your Aunt seems to think of herself as a princess and Emmett is built like a tower." Blondie started growling but Emmett was laughing along with most of the rest of the family.

"Jacob, be nice!" Nessie said as she playfully punched my arm.

After I was done explaining everything I set up the wolf pieces but didn't bother explaining those. The pieces followed standard Pack dynamics. As Alpha I was the King, which made my second, Leah fittingly the Queen. Quil, Embry, and Seth then fell in line to my right while Sam, Paul and Jared, the other Pack, I placed on my left in that order.

"But this means that when I play, the Wolves and my family would have to oppose each other." Nessie seemed upset at her realization. "I don't think I could do that. I would have to choose a side and I could never do that."

"I thought you might say that, check the drawers underneath." I said as I took away the pawns and moved the Wolves forward one square into their spots.

"What drawers . . . ?" she started to ask when I pulled one open. In the drawer she found an entire other set of light wood Wolves and dark stained wooden family members.

"I thought you could use the Wolves as the pawns. This way the Wolves and your family would work together and it would just be light versus dark, like a regular chess set. Would you be alright with that?" Please say yes, please say yes. If she does I'll have to ask her to teach me how to play someday.

"Jacob, that's perfect. I love it!" She jumped into my arms again and gave me an even bigger hug than before.

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Huilen and Nahuel were expected to arrive today. I had been sitting by the front window watching for them for hours. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep and got up at 4:30, accidentally waking Jacob up in the process. He had stayed with me until he had to leave for school with the rest of the family. Aunt Rose and my Uncles had gone hunting and Grandpa Carlisle had disappeared into his office around eleven. He was researching this unique medical case he was asked to consult on for work, so for a while it was just Grandma Esme and me. She stayed with me for over an hour but then also had her own work to do.

The library was apparently in _desperate_ need of new furniture. She claimed that the current design ascetic was not working for her, even though she had just decorated it right before we moved here. Everything was brand new, well only a year old, but she said it wasn't right and had scheduled phone consultations with fabric designers and upholsterers, not to mention furniture manufactures, and a plethora of others. It was one phone call after another for the better part of the afternoon.

At last, when I started to think that Alice had been wrong, and they weren't coming, the distant sound of a car driving down the long windy road to our house caught my ear. The hunting group would not return until tonight, possibly tomorrow morning, and the rest of my family wouldn't be getting back from school for another hour, so it must have been them. As soon as the taxi pulled up I ran out the front door, almost knocking Nahuel over as I gave him a hug, the moment he had exited the cab. I hadn't seen them in almost a year and was a little over excited, but what could you expect; I had been waiting for them to arrive all day.

He looked uncomfortable after being cooped up in the taxi for so long, but he never learned to drive, and my father insisted he not run here, so others of our kind would not follow his scent to the house.

"Nahuel, you're finally here!" I shrieked into his ear, probably a little too loudly, judging by the wince he made. "Sorry," I quickly apologized. "I thought you were coming back last week, for my birthday. Where is your Aunt Huilen?" I asked, looking past him to the taxi that was now driving away.

"Renesmee, why don't we let Nahuel get settled. He's had a long journey and I'm sure he will answer all of your questions later," Grandpa Carlisle said as he came up behind me and wrapped Nahuel in a small embrace, as well. "Hello my friend, please come into the house."

"Thank you, Carlisle. So good to see you both again."

Once Nahuel had gotten in the house, he unpacked his belongings in the same guest room he had stayed in during his last visit. He had brought a couple of bags with him this time, much more than his previous visits. When the time was right and it wouldn't seem rude I wanted to ask him how long he was planning on staying. After twenty-two minutes he re-emerged and seemed ready to talk.

"Thank you so much, for your hospitality. I have been traveling for awhile now and it will be nice to sleep in a bed again." He looked a lot cleaner now then when he arrived, so I'm guessing he also hadn't had access to a shower until now either.

By the time he came out of the room Aunt Rose, Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper had come back from hunting. They hadn't gone as deep into Canada as they normally did, running into a herd of Moose close to the border and, being very filling, turned back after drinking one each. We were all currently gathered in the living room.

"Did something happen?" Uncle Emmett asked, noticing Huilen was missing. My easy going Uncle, king of jokes and mischief, actually seemed worried. I was too. Why would Nahuel come here and leave his Aunt alone?

"Yes. But nothing bad, I assure you. It is just that my Aunt Huilen has found a possible mate. His name is Roberto, he was one of the witnesses that the Volturi brought with them but left rather quickly. He did not side with them in the end but thought Huilen _interesting_ . . . interesting enough to track her down, at least. They seem to be getting along quite well."

My whole body froze when Nahuel mentioned the Volturi. I needed to take some deep breaths and calm down. Since Jacob, who usually helped me through these things was at school, I tried concentrating on the bracelet he gave me my first Christmas. Just thinking of him when I was upset like this usually helped.

"I thought it was best if I gave them some alone time together. Huilen stayed in South America, she did not feel it was right to leave at such a critical point in their . . . _relationship_. And she thought it was best not to come here with him, since Roberto is rather unwilling to accommodate to the Cullen way of life."

"That seems very wise of them, if he was not disposed to either follow along with our vegetarian diet or hunt outside of the area during his stay." My Grandpa was always thinking of others.

I agreed. "Huilen has been alone for so long. If she has found someone she could possibly see spending the remainder of her existence with, she deserves the chance to find out. Though, I do hope that I will see her again someday."

"I am sure you will, Renesmee."

"And perhaps we will one day make the journey to South America and we can visit Huilen, and this _Roberto,_ ourselves." Aunt Rose added.

"That would be very nice. It would be a pleasure having your family come visit us sometime in the future."

Nahuel then turned to my Grandpa. "Carlisle I was wondering if you would mind if I were to stay here for an extended period of time, this visit? I would like to give my Aunt as much time as she requires, to explore this relationship of hers, without my interference or hindrance." His eyes fell to the floor. "If it weren't for me she would have had a normal life, possibly gotten married and had children of her own. I took that all away from her. I feel that this is finally something I can do to begin to make it up to her." When his head raised to once again look my grandfather in his eyes I could see that Nahuel's face was so sad looking, and what I believe was remorse.

Was he sorry he changed his Aunt into a Vampire? I had never thought that someone, especially Nahuel, would see being a Vampire as anything but a positive thing. My mother always explained to me that when she was changed she finally became what she was always meant to be. She saw being a Vampire as becoming her true self, the real her, at her most content, where she finally felt comfortable in her own body. I know this was not how everyone saw it, but I did not realize how awful others felt. Yes, it was true, a female Vampire cannot have children, but that did not exclude other things. And there was more to life than reproduction. Enhanced strength, memory, reflexes, near invulnerability, immortality, the list goes on and on. Of course there were tradeoffs. My family could not be in the sun around humans and had no interest in eating human food. But I've tasted it. Yuck! Humans were just incapable of understanding how delicious blood was.

"But I am sorry that Huilen and I missed your birthday, Renesmee." Nahuel had continued talking while I was preoccupied with my own thoughts. "She made this present for you and asked me to wish you the best on this celebratory day of your birth." He handed me some earrings that he took out of his back pocket. Hmmm, my ears are not pierced and I wasn't sure if it would even be possible. I guess it must be if Huilen gave them to me. "And this is from me," Nahuel added, placing a matching beaded necklace around my neck.

"Thank you, but you did not have to get me anything."

"Nonsense, you deserve them. Seven years is not nearly enough time to celebrate a birth as special as yours, and I should know," he smirked at me. He seemed really happy that I liked his gift. I couldn't wait until Jacob got home so I could show it to him.

* * *

Okay . . . not my most exciting chapter, but lays the groundwork for future events. Any suggestions for improvements?

Thanks for reading. Please review.


	18. Nahuel's Past

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Eighteen**

**Nahuel's Past**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

Nahuel had been here for a little over a week. The entire family all gathered in the living room after I ate dinner. Esme cooked enough for Nessie and Nahuel too, but they mostly just picked at the food.

While Nessie had always preferred blood to real food I know Nahuel had said that he would eat (or drink) both. What was his problem? Didn't he like Esme's cooking?

I loved it. At her request Billy had sent her some recipes of my favorite meals that my mom use to cook. It was really nice, and completely unexpected. I thought I would never taste my mother's cooking again but the first night Esme set a plate of my mom's cheesy chicken casserole in front of me . . . the smell . . . I nearly lost it right there. Delicious!

Each night after that, for the past few months, Esme had made me one of my favorite foods. Nessie tried each one with me, but didn't share the same love of food (well human food) as I did. Neither, it seemed, did Nahuel. They just didn't know what they were missing.

Nessie was currently curled up in my lap, on one of the couches in the living room, fighting to stay awake, and loosing. It had been a long day for her. We had hunted together in the morning, then Alice whisked her away on a shopping trip as soon as we returned from Canada.

I had been worried that she seemed to get tired so early at night and would sleep so long. I know little kids need more sleep than adults, but I don't remember sleeping as much as Nessie does. I brought it up to the Doc awhile ago, but he had no definite answers for me. The Doc did confirm that it was common for young children to sleep, and eat more than normal, when they were having growth spurts. And Nessie's life so far had been one long, constant growth spurt.

I needed to remember to ask Nahuel what happened with him, if he thought Nessie will not need as much sleep, once she stops growing so quickly. Once Nessie fell asleep I got my chance. Nahuel told me that he also remembered sleeping a lot when he was around Nessie's age. Not being around any humans in his youth he never realized it was abnormal. At least Huilen never had said anything to him about it.

That made me feel a little better . . . well less worried, anyway. I was starting to think having Nahuel here was a good thing.

My question seemed to inspire Nahuel to regale (bore) us with stories about his life in South America. He had been yapping on and on for the past two hours. After the first thirty minutes I stopped paying close attention and was about to fall asleep myself. That was, until I heard him mention Joham. That was the name of the Vampire who impregnated Huilens sister . . . I think.

"No, I never wanted to end up in anyway like my father." Ha, I was right. "I made sure of that. I would never be able to handle the guilt." Nahuel seemed to be explaining about some horrible thing that I had missed.

"How exactly did you manage that? Did you find a way to save the women, somehow?" Jasper questioned him. This sounded important and I immediately started paying more attention.

Edward growled, not even trying to hide it under his breath. He must have heard something in someone's thoughts he didn't like.

"You misunderstand. My remorse did not lie with the dead woman, but with the children who could have been born. Knowing they would have to deal with the guilt of ripping through their mothers to enter this world, like I did."

I was about to pick Nessie up and leave the room, I did NOT want her hearing whatever else Nahuel was about to reveal, but when I looked down I saw she was still fast asleep. Thank goodness.

"I always chose attractive young woman from the poorer parts of one of the nearby cities, whenever the mood struck me . . . or I was hungry." He added offhandedly, almost like an afterthought. "It was not like I was going to be celibate for over a century," Nahuel mused with a chuckle. Why did so many eyes in the room dart over to Edward?

"I would bring them to some run down motel. It didn't matter to me and was better than some back alley or tiny car that they were used too. When we were done _enjoying_ each other I would feed on them, ensuring there would be no progeny resulting from our activities. Of course I would, more often than not, get so caught up in the moment that I would end up drinking from them before we had finished, anyway. But with all of the crime native in the area, one more dead girl was nothing to the local police."

"That's disgusting!" I exclaimed, then quickly looked down again to make sure my utterance had not woken my innocent little angel. It hadn't.

Giving me a snide look, he huffed, "I am half-Vampire after all, and have no problem living as one, that includes feeding off of humans." Was he really offended by me?

"That is, of course, because I knew of no other way, until I met your family. I simply combined two _necessary_ activities. I wasn't worried about being careful with them since they would all meet the same end when I was through. So what if some ended up dying during our lovemaking process? It didn't matter in the end."

Lovemaking? Ha! He was joking, right? The monster seemed awfully proud of himself. Being so _efficient_.

"I am not ashamed of my past. If I have disturbed anyone here though, I am sorry," he said, eyeing us all. The looks on everyone's faces ranged from shock, to disgust, to mild understanding around the room. "I hope we can remain friendly. I would like to think of you all as my extended family. I believe your Denali cousins followed the same lifestyle before becoming vegetarians, themselves. Did they not?"

No one's expression changed, except Carlisle's. He was always full of compassion and understanding, sometimes, like now, a little too much for my liking.

"Of course Nahuel, it was in your past. We all have done things that we have come to regret at one time or another. What is important is that we learn from our _mistakes_ and try to be better in the future." Like I said - too compassionate for his own good.

"I can see your heart was in the right place," he continued, "not to want to inflict, on any of those young woman what happened to your own mother, even if your methods were . . . not as I would have hoped."

"I have tried to control myself, since the Volturi encounter. I have _tried_ following your example of a vegetarian diet Carlisle, but I must admit it has not been easy. And I have slipped more than once, in the . . . heat of the moment. It seems my . . . _appetite_ is rather large," his eye winked, but to no one in particular. "Perhaps, when I have more of a concrete reason to do so, I can make a more permanent change." Nahuel smirked. At first I thought he was looking at me but then his eyes focused on Nessie, still sleeping on my lap. "I am hoping, if all goes well, in the near future, I will have a greater reason to control my thirst, at that time." He never took his eyes off of Nessie when he said this.

OH! HELL! NO! I wanted to phase and rip Nahuel to shreds right there, but I couldn't, not with Nessie asleep in my arms. I needed to calm down . . . NOW!

Nessie's hair was by my nose and as I focused on her scent I began to relax, at least enough to where I stopped shaking.

Emmett looked over and saw my reaction and decided to butt in, presumably to help. "Nahuel, man, if you want to have any chance with a _certain someone,_ EVER, you need to start trying harder, _immediately_, dude. Or else no one is going to let you anywhere near. . . whoever."

Was he really trying to make it seem like he wasn't referring to Nessie? Sheesh Emmett, I am pretty sure a blind cat would have known that.

"Anyway man, why couldn't you have chosen to be with other Vampires instead of innocent humans? What's with that?"

"Well Emmett, not all of them were so innocent, many were prostitutes." Nahuel smirked back at him.

That was suppose to make eating someone better?

"Ew, gross man." Emmett pretended to gag.

"Also, as you can imagine not many Vampires travel through South America due to the constant sun. And my Aunt Huilen was always wary of the few Vampires who did come through the area. Occasionally she would be satisfied by the occasional tryst but like I said I seem to have a much larger appetite."

He really needed to stop talking now; and he especially needed to stop smiling over at Nessie when he made suggestive comments like that, even if she was unable to hear them. Bella at least growled this time at him, and I instinctively hugged Nessie tighter. At least I didn't have it as bad as Edward. I guess this was the first time he heard about Nahuel's past as well, and in addition to the audio version also got the total recall _experience_ in Nahuel's mind. At least that was what I assumed as I watched Edward continually clenching and unclenching his fists. Esme was going to have to replace the chair he was sitting in, now was missing its arms which currently had two piles of sawdust under where they would have been.

As Nahuel finished his story I could see, out of the corner of my eye, Rosalie's head start to whip back and forth as her hair turned into a blur, just like that little girl from The Exorcist movie. Her head was moving so fast, switching between looking between Nahuel and myself when suddenly she stopped and her gaze fixed on me; at least I thought it was me. When a smile erupted over her face I realized that I must have been wrong; she must be looking at Nessie. Blondie would never smile at me, unless she had something nefarious planned.

Just at that moment Edward abandon his hand clenching, as his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Then he scrunched his eyebrows, giving Blondie a look like he couldn't believe whatever she was thinking. A second later I think I saw him crack a smile, before it disappeared.

What could she have been thinking for that type of reaction? On the surface it seemed simple enough. If she was looking back and forth between Nessie and Nahuel she must have been picturing the two of them together, and her smile meant she was happy about it.

But then why would Edward smile?

No that couldn't be it. I must have been right the first time, she was looking at me and planning something.

Edward gave her another look, as if to ask her if she was serious about . . . whatever it was and she smiled and nodded back. Yup, she was planning something big for me. But I had bigger problems to think about right now.

When Nahuel was done _reminiscing_ Edward came over to me and quietly whispered, "Why don't you take Nessie to her room and put her to bed. You both could use some sleep. We'll see you in the morning. I think there are a few _things_ I would like to discuss with Nahuel."

Suddenly I was so glad that Esme had chosen to make all of the walls in the house sound proof. I didn't want to hear any of _that_ conversation. I had seen that look in his eyes before. He had given me that look on more than one occasion, back when I was trying to steal Bella from him. It would probably be too much to hope that it meant that Nahuel would be missing a limb or two after tonight.

Not wanting to spend one more minute in the same room as that perverted monster I grabbed Nessie up in my arms and whisked her away to our bedroom.

Settling the two of us into bed all I wanted to do was to try to put the evening's _events_ behind me. Tonight had upset me for multiple reasons. Never mind what Nahuel had done in the past, as disgusting as that was, but the fact that he had implied that he wanted to be with Nessie _romantically_ . . . someday, and no one had ripped him to shreds right there and then? Okay maybe that was a bit much, Edward was upset, but there wasn't even one scream or objection, from him or anyone else. Did no one else have any problem with him and what he did, what he was still doing? He was a Monster. Didn't they see that?

Not that I had any love for leeches, or them me, but I thought we were getting past that and I was sorta being included . . . welcomed even, into the Cullen family. But I had deluded myself into thinking that they wanted Nessie to end up with me. Then again wasn't that why I was here? No, I was just fooling myself. Of course they would want Nessie to be with someone like herself, if it was a possibility. Someone who was more like them.

Well I didn't care what they thought. Nessie's was the only opinion that mattered. She loved me just as much as I loved her. I had Imprinted on her and though she was too young for anything to become romantic type of love I was _positive_ that someday it would be. There's no way she would pick him over me. She barely knew him, and the more she did, I'm sure, the more repulsed and disgusted she would become.

The next day Edward asked to talk to me in the living room after lunch. Walking in I saw that the entire family, except Bella, Nessie, and Nahuel, were all sitting there. I knew Bella had taken Nessie shopping for more new clothes to replace the ones Alice got her yesterday. Apparently they were not _appropriate_. What could Alice have gotten an eleven year old girl that was inappropriate? I don't think I want to know. And I didn't really care where _HE_ was, as long as it was far away from me and Nessie. But were they all waiting to talk to me? This was not going to be good.

"Jacob, we asked you here to talk about Nahuel. Earlier today, Edward came to me to voice certain concerns he has about Nahuel." Good, at least I wasn't the only one who thought he was bad news. Suddenly I was happy, knowing that Carlisle was about to tell me that they were sending, or had already sent Nahuel away. "He also brought to my attention some of your thoughts on what Nahuel revealed last night." Normally it would upset me to know that Edward was telling the other leeches what I was thinking, but not this time. "While you are not the only one who takes issue with certain aspects of his past," Carlisle said, pausing to specifically glance at Edward, "I wanted to ask you to try not and be so hard on him." What? "You live in a house full of Vampires. You know what we are, what our normal food source would be if we were not vegetarians." Was Carlisle really trying to reason with me? Were they not kicking the bloodsucker out? Damn-it!

"You're different. _You_ only hunt animals." I snapped back at him, a small growl escaping with it, which I immediately regretted. I respected the Doc, probably more than any of the rest of them.

"Currently, yes. But not all of us have perfect records like Carlisle, Bella and Rosalie," Edward explained.

"Yeah, man. There were a couple times even I slipped up, in the past. We can't all be perfect like my Rose," Emmett added in, while beaming over to his wife with pride.

Wait, I thought she killed like five men. I can't remember exactly what she did, but I know she mentioned how they all deserved it. Didn't matter though, there's never a good reason to murder a human being.

"Jacob, Rosalie had her reasons. But that is none of your business." Edward had read my mind again. Of course he did, that's what he does.

"Edward, its fine, he may as well know. Everyone else in the family already does. Go ahead, tell him, I just don't want to be around for it," Blondie huffed as she stormed out of the room.

What was that about?

"Jacob, why don't you sit down for this." Edward said as his and everyone else's faces turned to pained or sorrowed expressions.

What did I miss now?

When Edward finished telling me Rosalie's story I felt sick. Okay, she was a horrible, prissy, stuck up snob, sometimes. Okay, most of the time. But now I knew that she had a pretty good reason. I would be as pissed off with the world too if something like that happened to me. I think I need to start being nicer to her.

"She doesn't want your pity, Jacob." Edward had been in my head again. "But you need to understand that we all had violent ends to our natural lives, some worse than others, in her case. That was how we came to be as we are now. We are all dealing with our own demons.

"Even Nahuel." Carlisle interjected. "His just manifested as it has, partially due to how it was that he came into this world."

This little conversation made me feel differently about Rosalie, but did little to sway my feelings on Nahuel.

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

"Checkmate."

"What! Oh, I thought I had you that time." I scowled at Uncle Jasper. He had beat me. Again! We had been playing on the beautiful chess set, that Jacob had made for me, all morning and I still had yet to win a game against him . . . ever.

Wile it was a school day for Jacob, my parents and Aunt Alice, the others had finished school last year. While Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose usually spent the day outside of the house doing . . . married stuff Uncle Jasper spent a good portion of his time with me, while he waited for his other half to return.

"Don't be so upset darling," he smiled back at me. "It takes years to master chess. It's not just about memorizing books on game strategy, and famous chess moves. You need to think five, ten, twenty moves ahead. Try getting into the mind of your opponent, see where they will go, and why. And that is just the beginning."

"But I thought it was just about finding a move that won't result in you taking my chess pieces, while simultaneously moving mine into position to take your king."

"That is part of it, but you cannot see every possible outcome of every move, every time. And depending on your opponent, like you have just witnessed," he smirked at me, "sometimes there are no moves you can make where you don't lose any pieces."

"So what do I do then?"

"You can start by not trying to save everyone. You know in chess, as in life, sometimes sacrifices must be made. Have you ever heard the saying that occasionally you have to lose the battle to win the war? Not trying to lose any chess pieces only prolongs the game, you eventually will still loose."

"So I need to think more about what each moves potential is?"

"Exactly." He started resetting the board.

"Uncle Jasper, how are you so casual about sacrificing your pieces?"

"Nessie, are using the chess pieces, that Jacob made you, of the Wolves and ourselves what is giving you so much trouble?" His hand paused, holding his Leah wolf pawn above the board. "If so perhaps it would be better to use a standard set." He was trying to get into my head. Thinking he had found my weakness. It was not going to work.

"Obviously I don't like losing them, but that is not it. I would feel protective of the chess pieces no matter if they represented my family and friends or not." I think. But I wasn't telling him otherwise. Not now anyway, not after I told him it didn't matter.

"Then the goal you need to accomplish is to see if you can determine, within each game, if some pieces will be more valuable than others, to you. In chess the pawns are usually the most expendable." He paused for a moment, taking an unnecessary breath. "It was same when I was in Maria's army, the newborns were always the first to go. But in the end, all pieces are expendable, with the exception of the king. If you lose the king you lose the game. Likewise there would have been no southern Vampire wars without Maria.

I began setting up my own side. "But I thought the queen was the most powerful? Wouldn't you want to protect that piece just as much as the king?"

"It is a powerful weapon, both offensively and defensively, in a way. The queen can more around the most, but it still needs to protect the king, and you may need to sacrifice it, when deemed necessary. Sometimes to win, you are better off forfeiting one of your strongest pieces, than desperately trying to save it and risk losing everyone else, including the king, and consequently the game. You need to think of what will give you a strategic advantage in the end."

When the board was reset we continued playing, while Uncle Jasper and I talked about some of his military battles, different philosophies regarding fighting over negotiation, and his views on war. We played and talked for a couple more hours, where I captured more of his pieces, but still didn't manage to win a game . . . yet. But I will someday. Luckily, I had eternity.

It bothered me a little knowing his opinion on battle strategies. I hoped he was not so willing to sacrifice his family members as readily as he did chess pieces (and newborns).

Nahuel joined us after lunch. I wasn't sure where he had been all morning. He seemed to go off sometimes, for hours at a time and reemerge later, from wherever. I knew he wasn't leaving the property since he didn't know how to drive and the family insisted we travel everywhere by car. But I never went looking and had not asked. I was assuming he might have been homesick or wanted to be alone to think.

"You like playing chess, Renesmee?" Nahuel asked me.

"Yes, sort of. I'm trying to get better at it. Uncle Jasper is teaching me. Do you play?"

"I know the basics of how to play, but I cannot say that I am particularly very good at it. Would you care to join me in a game? Perhaps we can help each other?" his smile was reassuring. This could be fun, I might actually get a chance to win a game.

"Well, in that case, I think I will leave the two of you to it." Uncle Jasper said, probably sensing my excitement, as he excused himself.

We played a few games but before long it became clear that Nahuel was right, he did indeed know the basics of the game, but he was even worse than I was. He knew how each piece moved and the goal of the game, to capture the king, but little else. I thought he might have been letting me win in the beginning so I tried throwing a couple of games on purpose, but even ended up winning those. He never thought ahead more than two or three moves. He never saw the big picture. How was this possible? He was a half-Vampire, after all. He mentioned while we were playing that he learned how to play some eighty years ago. I would have thought with all of that time to practice he would have defeated me easily.

He was either very stupid, and I've never heard of a stupid Vampire, or he was still letting me win and was extremely good at disguising it. But that meant he thought I was weak, or he needed to coddle my fragile ego, which was not the case. I wasn't sure if I liked either possibility.

* * *

What do you think? Please review and let me know.


	19. Rosalie's Reconsideration

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Nineteen**

**Rosalie's Reconsideration**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

In the weeks following Nahuel's disturbing recap of his past escapades, I tried keeping him away from Nessie as much as possible. Most of the time it was easy. Nessie and I naturally gravitated towards each other and always wanted to be in each other's presence, whether it was while her helping me do my homework and study, me helping her hunt, her accompanying me while I patrol our side of the Olympia National Forest with her family, or doing fun stuff like watching movies, playing board games or a dozen other things. The only time I worried was when I was at school and knew Nahuel could get to her.

Bella and Edward assured me that she was perfectly safe, reminding me that Esme would be home with her, too. Nessie wasn't going to be abandoned just because I was in school. And if Esme had to go out for some reason there was always the rest of the family that could be home. Having Esme and Carlisle be there seemed okay, even Jasper watching her from time to time was agreeable. But Emmett and Rosalie? They were the least responsible people... err, Vamps I could think of. Yet I had to admit they did love her, and wouldn't do anything that would intentionally hurt my angel.

But there was also Rosalie's increasingly disturbing behavior around me to consider. It was nothing bad, really, just extremely unusual. She was actually being nice to me. It was... weird.

What was she was plotting? I vaguely wondered whether I should be worried about my safety. I know I would heal from whatever she did to me, but I still wasn't looking forward to the pain. Then again, it would give me a reason to get her back, equally as good. Hmmm. That could be fun.

I figured she must have cooked up some payback for my learning about her past. It was her own personal nightmare that she never wanted me to learn. Why would she? It was deeply personal and horrific. But then again she did practically shriek at Edward to tell me her story. This was so confusing. Why be mad at me? I didn't force him to say anything. She volunteered it.

Day after day I braced myself for whatever it was that she planned, ready to phase at a moment's notice. I wasn't going down without a fight. Yet day after day nothing happened.

I must have started to become more uneasy or paranoid that I realized because a week later Edward took me aside to talk to me. His normally composed face had a very strange expression on it. He seemed amused. I guess Blondie had finally settled on how she would get her revenge, and he thought it was hilarious.

"Jacob you don't have to worry about Rosalie," he said through his smirk "As you may be aware, we Vampires seldom change, but when we do it is a permanent one. It is very hard for us to do, so it's a rarity."

"Sure, sure." I didn't really get what he meant, and had no intention of dropping my guard.

"You may not be aware of this but before I met Bella I was never interested in finding a mate of my own." He paused and smiled for a moment. "Esme actually worried that Carlisle had changed me too young. When we would visit our cousins in Denali, Tanya was constantly throwing herself at me, to no effect."

Yuck, I DON'T need to hear this. Why was he telling me about that? And what does this have to do with his psycho sister?

"Patience, Jacob, I am getting to that. Back then I was perfectly fine being on my own, in a house full of matted Vampires. That is, I was until I met and got to know Bella. Rosalie has had a... similar change of heart in reference to you."

I can only imagine what the shock on my face must have looked like. Rosalie I was in love with me? GROSS! No way, not possible. Wait, what about Emmett?

Edward chuckled. "No, no, nothing like that. Don't worry. She has just re-evaluated her priorities. You may remember, before she stormed out last week, when she asked me to relay her history to you, that she referred to you as family?"

Now that I thought of it, I think she had said something like _the rest of the _family_ already knew about my past_. Was she really including me as part of the family?

"It seems She's more willing to put up with a bad stink," he said pointedly eyeing me, "than chancing Nahuel sucking the life out of Renesmee. She thinks of Nessie as her own daughter, in a way."

Wow, at least someone in this family was on my side. Why can't more of them see how dangerous Nahuel is? I thought Edward agreed with me, but that was before the Doc somehow changed his mind. How is it my only ally turned out to be Blondie.

"No one is against you, Jacob. We all know you would be good for Renesmee and how much you love her. But Nahuel has come here to get to know her, and see what may develop between the two of them. And he deserves a chance, as well. He knows that he needs to get better control if he ever hopes to be with her. He should be commended for being so honest with us."

"Please," I snorted, "he's only being honest because he knows you'd eventually read everything in his mind anyway. This way all of the bad stuff he's done now looks better that he's 'trying to overcome it'. I know Nessie deserves the chance to make her own choice, but he's too dangerous. He could kill her." I was getting angrier and angrier. They were putting Nessie's life in danger.

"You thought the same thing about me, with Bella."

"Yeah, and she died, remember."

"That was different and you know it. Renesmee is already a half-Vampire. She's a lot stronger than a _human_ Bella was."

"Edward, don't act like you don't know what I'm worried about. I am not talking about him breaking her, I know how strong she is, I'm talking about him feeding from her.

"I am aware of that as well, Jacob."

"And it's not the same. He's not you. Just because you were strong enough to not bite Bella, doesn't mean he's capable of the same thing. He has admitted it to us already that he can't control himself while he's... you know." I couldn't even say it. I really couldn't think of little Nessie like that, with him. Hell, I couldn't even think of Nessie being like that with me someday. She was still just a little girl.

"That is a good point, Jacob. She's a little girl, for now. But if you truly loved her -"

"You know I love her," I snarled back at him.

"Then you need to let her make her own decisions, when the time comes, and accept whatever they may be. You BOTH have time. I suggest you use it wisely."

What was that supposed to mean?

I never got my answer though. Edward was gone in a flash, back to wherever Bella currently was, I assumed.

Blondie and Edwards words kept bouncing around in my head. I can't believe it. Family! Rose called me family, and Edward confirm it. The thought was initially repulsive. I know Nessie was my family. And the Cullens were her family, but did that make them mine? I guess so. Imprinting on Nessie meant I was now family to a bunch of vampires!

* * *

"Are you ready Nessie, Rose is waiting for us in the garage?" I was calling to her from our bedroom.

"I'm coming, Jacob, I just found more body paint that I am still trying to get off. I'll be right there," she answered back from the adjourning bathroom.

Last night was actually fun, much more than I expected. Nessie wanted to go trick-or-treating for Halloween this year, while she still looked young enough for it to not seem weird. We had to drive for a while, so we would not leave a scent trail near the house, but it was worth it. We both ended up dressing in these space alien costumes that Alice made us. I thought it was a little silly for me to do at my age, but Nessie insisted we wear matching outfits and it made her so happy when I did. I would do anything for her to see her smile like that.

"Do you need any help?" I had thought the costume was enough, but Alice was being Alice so we were both subjected to a head to toe greening. The paint covered almost every inch of skin on both of us.

"No, it's in an area that's... well it is not exactly public."

Public? What did she mean by that? Oh! "Um, do you want me to ask Bella or Rose to come and help?"

It was amazing, the change in Rosalie. It was nice not constantly bickering with her, it was just strange. I think I kinda had gotten use to the bickering and name calling and now sort of missed it. Not that I wanted to go back to the way things were. This definitely was much better, just a little odd, after so long.

"No, almost got it... there, all set." Thirty seconds later she emerged from the bathroom fully dressed. She was wearing some older clothes, not that anything on her ever got a chance to really get old, she outgrew everything too fast. But this outfit definitely was not one of her newer ones. "Race you to the garage," she said as she blurred past me.

Rose and I were in the middle of rebuilding the engine on my Rabbit. While it was only the beginning of November I don't think my car would make it through another winter in the condition it was in. The Cullens had offered to buy me a new one, but I just couldn't take more from them than I already had. Blondie offered to help work on my car with me, and I thought that seemed like a nice compromise.

It turned out that once we stopped fighting with each other we actually had a lot in common. Probably more than anyone else in the house, well besides Nessie.

"There you two are, I thought I was going to have to do this all by myself," Rose said as she saw us enter the garage.

"Sorry we're late Aunt Rose. It's my fault. I... needed to find something I didn't mind getting covered in grease." Nessie smoothly fibbed.

"What makes you think you are going to be getting your hands dirty, young lady?"

"Aunt Rose, Jacob has been teaching me everything he knows about cars. I can help. Pleeeease."

"She's right Rose," I agreed. "She could probably name every part on this car, and its function."

"That doesn't prove anything. Just because she knows everything you know, doesn't mean she, or you, even come close to knowing even half of what I do about cars. Why don't you BOTH just sit back and learn a thing... or twenty," she smirked. I know she was just teasing, but Nessie was getting frustrated. She really wanted to prove to Rose that she was capable of helping.

** "**I think we can handle it Blondie." Us not fighting anymore didn't mean I was dropping my nickname for her anytime soon.

"Whatever, _dog_. It's your car, so if you don't care about breaking this hunk of junk it won't matter." She actually chuckled, playfully back at me. "Here Nessie, how about you prove you know what you are doing by disassembling this carburetor for me."

That made Nessie happy but then Blondie actually tried telling me what needed to be done on my own car. That was not going to happen. No matter how well we were getting along.

"Rose, this is still my car. I think I know what needs to be done to it. Thanks," I said as I started checking the oil pump.

"Fine, you want to try and drive around with a busted radiator go right ahead."

"There is nothing wrong with the radiator."

"No not yet, but look at it, it has sixty to seventy miles left on it, tops."

Damn-it! She was right. I growled lightly under my breath, not liking to look bad in front of Rose or Nessie. "Just hand me that wrench." I held out my hand and waited for her to give me the one on the table right next to her, but instead she grabbed it and shoved me out of the way.

I was about to push her back but she said, "We can fix it together, mongrel," as she handed me a pair of pliers that I hadn't seen her pick up.

A little over two hours later we were just about done with the radiator and a couple of other little things. We had been talking about Forks the entire time and had gotten onto the subject of Bella.

"Wait so you're telling me that the entire time I was trying to keep Bella from being turned into a Vampire you were actually on my side?" Edward had told me he didn't want Bella to become like him, but I never believed him. And now I find out Rose had actually been the only other one to vote against Bella joining the Cullen's when she returned from Italy. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore; everything worked out for the best. But it still would have been nice knowing I had at least one ally back then." Just as I do now.

Nessie was concentrating so hard on the carbonator I didn't think she was even paying attention to our conversation. She had been going slow, not wanting to mess anything up in front of Rose and had successfully taken it apart, cleaned it, and was working on reassembling the thing. Rose had checked on her progress throughout the morning and I could tell she was impressed.

"Why didn't you want my mother to be a part of the family Jacob?" Of course she had been listening. Damn. This could get awkward... or worse. Right now she just appeared curious, but if I told her the truth, which I knew I had to do, that would change.

Rose turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes. "Jake, you didn't tell her? She needs to know the WHOLE story and it would be better coming from you. The longer you wait the worse it will be."

She was right.

"Renesmee, why don't you come over here so we can talk."

Nessie followed me over to the workbench at the far side of the garage, where we could sit down. After a few deep relaxing breaths I began telling her about my past with Edward and Bella. She already knew the main events with James and Victoria, but everyone had conveniently left out telling her the part where Bella and I had developed our _unique_ relationship when Edward was gone. Nessie knew Edwards part of the story, from when he left, but she was never told the other side.

"Nessie back when Edward... left, Bella was... well, heartbroken. She had a very hard time without him. We had been friends before, and once Edward was gone, we started hanging out more. That was really all it was for your mom, but I kinda... developed a _crush_ on her."

"Jake, it was more than a little crush and you know it, there is no point sugar coating it for her. She'll find out eventually."

Thanks Rose. I glared at her, but managed not to growl. Instead I sighed. She was correct.

"Yeah, Rosalie's right. It was more than a crush, at the time I thought I was in love with her. But it didn't matter. This all happened when Victoria was trying to kill Bella and I first phased. She never returned my feelings and eventually your father was back in the picture. You already heard how Bella went to... _Italy_ and saved him, right?"

"Yes."

That's all she was going to say? I would have thought she would have been more talkative. It was probably just my mention of Italy and all that it implied. I knew not to say Volterra, but I should have just skipped mentioning it altogether. Still something else was up. Normally she would be interrupting me, asking questions, adding to the story what she already knew, but not... nothing. This was different. I wasn't sure if it was good or bad, yet. I knew, through our Imprint bond, that I would feel it if what I said was hurting her, emotionally. I needed to be extra careful with my words.

"Well, when he came back, I was angry and jealous. I loved Bella and was sure she felt the same. At least a little. But it felt like Bella just cast me aside and dumped me for him. In reality she was always with him, even if he was not right next to her. She had always thought of me just as a friend, but I could not see that at the time. I even tried kissing her, to try and force her to see how much we belonged together."

"Yeah, he was real smooth, Bella ended up punching him. Broke her hand doing it too."

"Rose, I don't think you are helping." Seriously, Shut up!

"Fine, screw this up all by yourself." She turned back to the Rabbit. I winced as I heard metal crumple.

"I need to be completely honest with you Renesmee. There was more than that one kiss between us. I kinda tricked Bella into kissing me right before the newborn battle. I threatened to get myself killed when I learned she agreed to marry Edward. I thought my world was over and didn't care anymore. It was a last ditch effort."

Nessie didn't say anything so I continued, after taking another deep breath. "Back then I saw becoming a Vampire as the same thing as dying. I had heard the old Quileute stories of the Cold Ones my entire life. I hated Vampires. It didn't matter to me that your family was different, I refused to see it. So, to me, Bella and Edward being together meant that he was going to kill her, eventually. I didn't care whether it was an accident or on purpose. He would eventually bite her, either feeding off of her or changing her. But the way I saw it was that if she was with me, she would live. And it worked. She kissed me back and realized, on some level, that she was in love with me too."

Nessie still sat there silently, patiently waiting for me to finish. She didn't look angry, or start crying, or yelling, or laughing. I knew she was thinking. She was processing everything with her advanced half-Vampire brain. I needed to give her time. Eventually she would speak.

"Jacob are you trying to tell me that you're in love with my mother, and that she loved you too?" Nessie's expression looked pained, which shook me to the core. She had never been upset with me before. I was about to correct her but the pain I felt emanating from her shocked me. I had hurt her and that shock made me hesitate for a second. Before I found the ability to speak again she beat me to it. "You must have if you kissed her. Was it more than that?" Her voice was cracking, I could see the tears building in her eyes. "Wait... . once she realized she loved you too did the two of you have sex?" she gasped and leaned away from me. That one action hurt more than if she had punched me in the face.

"No, no, no!" I finally shook myself out of my stupor and found my voice. "Oh my god, no!" I stressed again and again, needing that fact to be crystal clear. I didn't need any more misunderstandings. "I barely even kissed her. It wasn't like that. She didn't feel the same way about me as I thought I did about her. Even though I finally made her realize her feelings for me, she knew she still loved your father more.

"And I never really loved her either. It wasn't until after you were born that I understood why I... _mistakenly_ thought I was in love with her. The Imprint magic, that drew me to you, was already there, before you were even conceived. It was just weaker back then, but it was why I was so protective of Bella, I had to keep her safe... alive. You were a part of her and I was responding to the Imprint way back then. Do you understand what I am saying Nessie? The Imprint bond is so incredibly strong with us, stronger than with any of the other Wolves. Nessie YOU are the one I love, the one I am supposed to be with."

After a minute of silence Nessie spoke again. She looked much calmer now, but I could feel that she still was a bit unsure. But it was lessening. "So let me see if I understand you correctly. Due to our Imprint, you were friends with my mother when she needed you, comforted her when my father left her, protected her from Victoria, saving her life more than once, ended up developing feelings for her only to get _punched_ and ultimately rejected, all to ensure you would end up Imprinting on me, whom you did not even know would ever even exist, at the time?"

It sounded so much better when she said it.

She was still waiting for an answer, but I didn't want to talk and screw things up again, so I just nodded, to which she immediately relaxed and even smiled a little.

"So you're not upset anymore?" I was dumbfounded.

"No. Sorry I broke down before, but the thought of you and her... together -" She took a deep breath, but never finished her thought. "I guess that everything that happened back then needed to happen. Well maybe not you kissing her, but I can... understand. And it's not like it is going to happen again, is it?" she chuckled, but I knew she found that possibility as unlikely as I did.


	20. Applications and Books

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Twenty**

**Applications and Books**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

I hadn't actually lied to Jacob. I would never do that. I just don't think it really hit me at the time. I was just relieved that it was only a couple of kisses between him and my mother and not more. But I don't think the reality of what went on between then had completely sunk in, or I didn't fully realize the implications, at the time. My Jacob had been in love with my mother! And no one had told me until now!

Okay so I was only two, they had not hid the truth for very long. And I am sure part of the reason why was because they knew it would upset me. I could see how worried Jacob was when he told me yesterday. My entire family was probably concerned what my reaction would be. But I was not even sure what I was feeling, if I were to be completely honest with myself. I think I needed to talk to my family and get some better answers. I already had Jacob's point of view. My mother was next, and possibly my father. I also planned to talk to my Aunt Rose if I still needed too. She was like a second mother to me at times, and I knew she would tell me the truth.

Walking into the library I found my mother with some book I was sure she had already read at least a dozen times. "Hi mom, have you seen dad?" Strange, they were normally together.

"He had to go into town to help Carlisle with something. Did you need him? I could call and ask him to come home early?"

"No, that's alright. I wanted to talk to both of you but I can do it individually just as easily." It would probably be better this way.

"Alright dear. What did you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath, not sure how I should broach the subject. In the end I just blurted it out. "You and Jacob once being in love." I could feel the worry creep up as I spoke.

She looked stunned, well as stunned as her frozen Vampire facade would allow.

"How did you learn about that?" Was she trying to avoid talking directly about it with me?

"Jacob told me, with a little prompting from Aunt Rosalie."

Now some emotion showed on her face – anger. "Of course it was Rose, she's always trying to ruin things for Jake."

"She wasn't . . . and didn't." I explained. "She and Jacob have been getting along much better recently." I didn't know why, but I was glad, nonetheless.

"Yeah, I'm aware of her change of mind, but this doesn't make it seem like it was as big of a shift as Edward thought," she said mostly to herself before getting silent. I thought she was trying to avoid talking about her and Jacob's previous relationship again, but after a fairly long pause she began talking. "If she didn't hurt things between you and Jake what did you need to talk to me and Edward about? You could have asked Jake any questions you had."

Wow, she really did not want to talk about this. Unfortunately I needed answers, and she was who I needed them from most.

"I already talked to him and heard his version of the events that took place, but I want to hear your side. Learn your thinking and reasoning on the events." Just to speed things up I used my gift to show her exactly what Jacob and I talked about. "I want to know why? Why would you do that to him. He was wonderful to you."

"It is a long story honey." She was still trying to avoid talking about this with me. But I was not going to let her.

"Am I right in assuming you didn't tell me any of that because you were afraid of hurting me? Or was there another reason?"

"Jake was, and still is, my best friend. But that's it."

"I . . ." I was about to tell her that I knew she didn't have any _current_ feelings for my Jacob, not after she was changed. She was a Vampire, mated to my father. I knew how unbreakable a Vampires bond was towards their mate. But she kept talking and I never got the chance to tell her this.

"Renesmee, human emotions are messy. Back then I was confused, unsure. I didn't want to hurt him, but at the same time I needed Jake. He kept me sane while your father was gone. And I was selfish," she admitted, dropping her gaze from my eyes for the first time. "I needed him and used him. It was wrong but I couldn't help myself."

While I was glad she was giving me some answers I still had questions. "But when dad . . . returned you kept using Jake." Okay so that wasn't really a question, but she got what I was trying to ask.

"Not exactly. I tried telling him how I felt, that I was not in love with him. But I still had _feelings_ for him. They didn't just disappear when Edward came back. And Jake was very . . . persistent. No one wanted to let anyone go. I loved your father but I think your Imprint kept pulling me towards Jake, and he to me. In the end my love for you father won out, it was stronger, naturally, since Jake didn't actually Imprint on me. It was not a true Imprint pull we felt, but the pull had been there, no matter how weak," she explained.

"So, you loved dad, but also may or may not have loved Jacob, just not as much. And Jacob thought he was in love with you, but it was just his Imprinting on me?

"Essentially. Look honey, it was a very confusing time for all of us back then. No one tried to hurt anyone else, and we never wanted to upset you with this information. Don't be mad at Jake. He truly loves you. If you are going to be mad at anyone it should be me."

"I'm not mad, at either of you. Just confused." That was the truth, I think.

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

"Jacob, may I have a word with you?" Edward called from the doorway of the garage. I was just finishing giving the Rabbit a tune up, and apparently got too wrapped up in my own thoughts to have heard or smelled him approach before this.

My thoughts normally centered on Nessie, but right now I had been preoccupied thinking about Nahuel. Sorta, more like how happy I was now that he was GONE. He had, much to my pleasure, finally left after staying here for four months. In my opinion that was four months too long.

To top it off I almost phased and bit his head off right before he left. He had been going around to everyone, saying some personal goodbyes, but when he got to Nessie he brought her in for a close hug, and I heard him whisper into her ear how he looked forward to seeing _more_ of her on his next visit. I wasn't too happy about the hug, he was getting too close to her for a friendly hug for my liking, but what he said could have been taken innocently if not for the smirk that was on his face. Thank goodness Nessie had not seen it. But what he did next made me want to END him. He actually winked at her. I am not sure what she thought of it, hopefully nothing, but I didn't like his suggestive implications. She looked like a 12 year old and Nahuel's actions were completely inappropriate.

If he dares show his face here again I was going to be having a not so friendly chat with Nahuel about what was allowed and not around MY Imprint. But that didn't matter right now. He probably wouldn't be back again until Nessie's next birthday, and Edward looked like he was growing impatient with me.

"Um yeah, what's going on?" I finally replied as I wiped some grease off my hands.

"I was wondering how things were going between you and Renesmee? Are things still . . . awkward?"

"You would know, you're the mind reader." Was he really playing this stupid game with me? Things were stressed enough, I didn't need him adding to it.

Christmas had gone by this year without _much_ drama. Even though I once again spent the holidays with the Cullens and not my own family and Pack, I was starting to getting used to being without them as time went on. Sure I missed them more than ever this time of year, but I knew it would only get worse and more permanent as the years went on. I just needed to deal with it. And I could as long as I had Nessie

She and I were _mostly_ back to being best friends and were _almost_ past all of the awkwardness that we had been dealing with the past several weeks. I knew her initial, overly calm and understanding response, to the news of the feelings once held between Bella and me was too good to be true.

I was still with her every night, keeping her nightmares away. Most nights weren't too bad, but it was the anniversary of the Volturi's _visit,_ and she once again had more intense nightmares thanks to them, just like last year at that time.

At least she was fine when she was awake. And we still hung out with each other every day after school. She helped me with my homework when I got home, we ate dinner together, and she even started to try to teach me how to play chess at night. And on the weekends I took her hunting. Everything seemed the same as usual on the surface, but now, there was this hidden tension. I tried talking to her about it, but she said she just needed time to work things through. If time was what she wanted, time was what I would give her.

"Contrary to what you may think, I try not to listen 24 hours a day. I can tune people down, if not out, a bit." Edward explained.

I wasn't sure if I believed him. He always seemed to know every little thing I was thinking. "Thanks for your concern, we'll be fine. She says she's not actually mad at me, or Bella, just _confused_ about things between us and I believe her."

"I'm sure you're right and everything will work out, in time. Anyway, for now I wanted to give you this." Edward handed me a stack of papers. When I looked them over I saw it was a college application packet to Dartmouth. Actually, it was a _completed_ college application, with my name and information already filled in. "You only need to write the essay and sign your name."

Huh? "So I take it this means we're moving again? What, no dining room table, big family meeting to discuss it this time?" I had quickly moved past confusion right to anger.

"You know we cannot stay here forever. Last time, it was thought best, to ease Bella's and your transitions away from your families, gradually. You must have noticed how we all entered school this time as juniors and seniors. That only gave us two years as high school students. We cannot overstay our welcome in this area. It's only a matter of time before one of us is recognized by someone from Forks, or Seattle even. We did not move that far away. This was only a stopover, until our next move, Jacob.

"But Dartmouth? That's like 3000 miles away, all the way over on the east coast, right?"

"You are correct. Dartmouth College is located in Hanover, New Hampshire."

"Does Bella know about this?" There's no way she would want to leave Charlie.

"Yes, and to answer your next question, we told everyone of our desire to move, the other night, while you and Renesmee were asleep."

"And why wasn't I a part of this discussion? I'm not a Vampire so I don't get a vote? Is that it? Last time you were just humoring me?" I was trying, and failing, not to growl at him.

"It is nothing like that, Jacob. There was no discussion this time. I promised Bella, back when she was human, that we would go to Dartmouth together for college. The rest of the family was not a part of the decision making process either. We informed them where we were moving, and though we don't always live together, they consented to move, as well. Naturally we will be taking our daughter with us. Hence, the college application for you, . . . unless you wanted to go back to La Push."

Was he joking? "Just give it to me."

I didn't really like the idea of moving again, and so far away from La Push, my Pack, and my family, but there was really nothing I could do. There had been no increased Vampire activity around La Push, or Forks, like we had initially feared. That had been one of the main reasons originally given for staying in the area. Edward was right, it was time to leave. Bella and I would miss our families, of course, but we could keep in touch through phone calls, emails and the occasional visit.

I spent the majority of my Christmas break filling out more and more college applications. The Cullens had filled theirs out in a matter of minutes. Well, they were only applying to Dartmouth and had the whole super Vampire speed going for them, as well.

The chances of me, with my grades, getting into an Ivy League school like Dartmouth were slim to none in my opinion. Sure my grades had improved and I had done better on my SAT's than I had ever dreamed, but weren't the only people who got in to places like that either straight A, perfect students or the children of uber-wealthy heirs and heiresses?

Luckily New Hampshire was close to Massachusetts and there were a ridiculous number of colleges in that state. A quick web search showed that there were more colleges in that one state, than most other states in the country, combined. I was sure I could find someplace that would accept me.

It would mean a long commute, but I didn't mind driving, except it would take me away from Nessie for longer.

After discussing my options with Edward, who didn't see my acceptance into Dartmouth as an issue, but agreed to humor me while I applied elsewhere, he told me that wherever I went, I could potentially work out a schedule where I would only have to go in two to three days a week. He explained that, in college, classes weren't held every day, and some could even be taken online, at least part of the time.

Even if I did get in somewhere I had no idea how was I going to pay for college though. I couldn't ask Billy for help, he had been on disability for years. And I haven't had a job since before I first phased; patrolling didn't leave a lot of time for that. There were the stocks Alice bought me with my meager savings. But I didn't know how they were doing. I had never checked what they were worth after she originally bought them, when we first moved to Hoodsport. I was about to go find her and ask but before I could even take one step, Edward informed me that he would be paying my entire tuition, wherever I ended up going. I guess I should have figured that.

I pretty much gave up on the money issue with the Cullens awhile ago. It took me some time but I finally realized what Emmett meant when he had his chat with me last September. He was right, they didn't see money like normal people did. It wasn't something they cared about. Although it felt weird I didn't put up a fight and agreed to Edward paying my college tuition.

Although as I filled out my applications I had briefly thought about filling out the financial aid forms too. There was no point in wasting more of the Cullen's money. But then I thought how I would be taking aid money away from someone who needed it more. Someone who didn't have access to Cullen money; someone who would not be able to attend college without getting a scholarship, and those were limited, based on need, grades, and funds availability. I could potentially be taking away someone's future.

The protector in me just couldn't do it. It was strange, I think the longer I was a Wolf, the more I wanted to protect people; not just from Vampires, but from everything. I don't know, maybe, it had nothing to do with being a Wolf, maybe this was how I always was, and was just too young to realize it until now. I had never intentionally tried to hurt anyone when I was younger, but it wasn't like I was a saint either.

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

I put the bookmark Jacob had made me in my pocket, before closing the back cover, and returning the book to its rightful place on the shelf in Carlisle's office. It gave me immense satisfaction to know I had done it!

Wait, what time was it?

The clock hanging on the wall of our library said that it was just after 1pm. Today was Tuesday, the third of March. My parents, Jacob, and Aunt Alice were still at school. Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rose had gone away, _again_, for another romantic getaway. Uncle Jasper was out, running an errand for Aunt Alice, picking up several dozen outfits she had ordered from her favorite boutiques in Seattle. And Grandpa Carlisle was working at the hospital. Grandma Esme was the only one home with me currently. I wanted to tell someone my news so I ran downstairs to find her.

I found her in the kitchen.

"Grandma Esme, I'm done!" I said as she poured some equally disgusting looking and smelling brown liquid into a pan. I hoped it tasted better than it looked once it was cooked, because right now it reminded me of a certain bodily waste.

"Done with what, Renesmee?" she asked, after slipping the pan into the oven.

"I just finished . . .err . . . I'm sorry but what was that?" I was so distracted I could even tell her my amazing news.

"Brownies. They're for Jacob. You know how hungry he gets after school. I thought they would make a nice snack." She must be trying out another one of his mother's recipes. I had heard him talk about how they were one of his favorite desserts, my grandma must have also. "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Hmmm? Oh, um I finished reading all of the books in the house. Ask me anything," I said, breaking out into a smile.

Grandma Esme gave me a questioning look. "You mean to tell me you've read every single book in the entire house, including all of the medical books in Carlisle's office and everything we have collected over the decades, well centuries really, in the library?"

"Yes, I have. And don't worry, Grandpa Carlisle said it was alright and went through quite a few of them with me. What should I do now?"

"Do you understand them all?" she asked me, a bit bewildered. "You went through everything so quickly. Perhaps you should re-read them and come to me, or Carlisle, or any other member of the family, with any questions."

"I guess I could re-read them, if you want me to." I Loved my grandmother so I would do it if she asked but hated reading books more than once. Having an eidetic memory meant I wasn't ever going to forget anything, so it just seemed like a waist of time. I wasn't about to give up, though. "However I believe I understand everything. Perhaps my time might be better spent leaving the house, engaging in more social training. If it would make you feel better I am happy to let you test me first on what I have read. Jacob said he takes tests in school all the time. I even help him study."

(I was so glad things had returned to normal between Jacob and me. It took me awhile, too long actually, but I eventually was able to come to terms with my mother's and my Jacob's past. He was right, our Imprinting was so strong it crossed generations so that not only had my mother felt connected to him, before I was born, or even conceived, that he had been drawn to protect her. I don't know why I didn't fully accept it back when I first learned about them in November. I knew. in my heart, it was true and I could feel it deep in my soul as well.

Sometimes my brain just gets in the way. I didn't mean to hurt Jacob these past five months, but I needed some time, and he was so strong and amazingly patient, I knew he could handle it. Time was what I needed, and he, of course, gave me what I needed, as always.

There had been no fights, arguments, stand offs, or debates. I was never angry. I just needed to let my brain process the information in its own way and time. He was there for me, patiently waiting. To an outside observer, I was sure no one would have ever been able to tell there was anything even wrong. We still hung out every day, and did everything together as usual. There was just this thing that hung in the air, that had never been there before. Tension, very slight and small, but still there. But now it was gone, and we were back to _us_.)

"Alright honey, I believe, that you believe, you understand everything you've read." Hmmm. That was not exactly a vote of confidence on her part. "But just in case, let's discuss some of the books together. Why don't we divide our time. Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's can be reserved for book review, and Tuesday's and Thursday's you can practice engaging with humans."

"That sounds wonderful, Grandma, thank you so much," I said wrapping her in a giant hug. At least I will get to do something outside of the house occasionally. I couldn't wait until Jacob got home so I could tell him.


	21. Embry and Imprinting

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Twenty-One**

**Embry and Imprinting**

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

I loved hunting! I loved everything about it. Running through the Canadian woods, feeling the speed and freedom, the way my heart rate speed up, how my muscles stretched and loosened up. Normal, everyday life just didn't give my body much of a workout. It was only when hunting that I really seemed to come alive. I could run for hours and was getting faster and faster all the time. I was almost as fast as some of my family, but even within the Cullen clan, speed varied greatly between everyone. My father was the fastest but even _he_ was not as fast as my Jacob, when he was in his Wolf form. Maybe one day, if I lived long enough, I would become as fast as him. That was my goal, even if it was a nearly unattainable one. It was what I pushed for every time we hunted together, every week. I needed to have goals, desires, dreams . . . something to make life, or existence, worth living.

Then there was the blood. Animal blood was simply delectable. Well, actually herbivores blood was just okay, but still a hundred times better than human food; carnivores blood on the other hand was amazing, almost as good as human. Not that I would ever hunt or even harm a human, but still I remember the taste from when I was a newborn baby and my family gave me donated blood. I can't imagine anything better.

And I can't think about drinking blood without thinking about my Jacob. No, I would never drink from him, he was my go to hunting partner. When I appeared to be a toddler and my family was trying to transition me off of donated and onto animal blood, he was the only one that could get me to hunt. He turned it into a competition to see who could bring down an animal first, the two of us, or my mother or father. My meals were always just a fraction of the size of theirs, but when I was younger I didn't require so much blood so it didn't matter that I wasn't able to take down a full grown animal. I had gone after smaller animals or the young of larger ones. Soon enough Jacob and I developed a sort of rhythm. tag teaming the chosen animal After spotting my next meal, he would corner it while I swooped in for the kill. As I aged we went after bigger and bigger prey.

Now I was almost at the point where I could take any size animal down all on my own. I have been growing steadily, and now appeared to be around 13 years old. I was around the same size as my Aunt Alice and was almost as strong as a full Vampire. I knew I could do it on my own, but I didn't want to lose this camaraderie with Jacob. It was one of our favorite things to do together, or at least my favorite thing to do with him.

"Nessie, are you paying attention?" he said eyeing a pair of mountain lions twenty–two meters north-east of our current location.

"Always Jacob, I'm just waiting for you." I was really. My brain worked almost as fast and multilayered as my families; better if you asked some of them, especially when it came to languages.

I hadn't really thought much about it at the time but when Grandma Esme and I were learning Greek and Latin I had picked it up faster than her. I thought, at the time, that she was just pretending to go slower, as a pseudo study aide, but learned recently that it had in actuality taken her longer. Comparatively anyway. Whether learning an entirely new language in two weeks for me compared to one month for her it was still amazing compared to a human's ability to do the same. But they could think on many more levels than me.

My grandfather had once explained to me that the average human could only process one or two things at once, like a parent reading a bedtime story to a small child, while making a mental list of everything they needed to do after said child was asleep. Comparatively my family, and all Vampires, could handle seven to eight things at once, possibly more. And then there was my father, he was able to sort out hundreds of others mental thoughts while at school and never seemed to get overwhelmed. I on the other hand seemed to top off at four to five separate things.

"I'm not going to help you this time Nessie." Jacob said to me "It's all you. I've got my eye on that one over there." He pointed to the cougar on the left. "You get to get the other one on your own. I'll meet you back here in when done. Okay?"

"Oh, alright." Wait, was that it, was this how my hunting happiness died?

Jacob had already taken off and phased. He looked so beautiful as a Wolf, even if he was wearing those silly shorts that Aunt Alice made him. He never complained about them, at least around me, so I wasn't going to say anything. But a giant Wolf in shorts kind of looked ridiculous.

My mother kept saying they were a _modesty_ thing. I had learned that my father was the one who had put Alice up to in the first place. And I could see how it would make sense . . . if I had not already seen everything, by accident, when Aunt Alice was first testing the shorts on him.

Everyone knew I had a perfect memory. It's not like I was going to forget what I saw. I remember everything in prefect clarity and detail, just like a full Vampire. But I think it was one of those things that my family did to make _themselves_ feel better and then tell me it was for _my_ own good. That's fine, I could humor them in this, as well as in all of the other things we were pretending I was too young to know about, but already did. I could wait and when they were finally ready, they would relent.

Most things that they were uneasy with appeared to be tied to the rapid growth of my physical appearance. There seemed to be this unwritten rule with my family where they ignored the fact that I was mentally an adult, and sometimes only let me behave as I looked physically. This was true even as I was beating Uncle Jasper at Chess, (I finally did last week, I think he's still in shock!) performing side by side with my father on the piano, mastering a dozen different languages, the list went on and on.

Why did my physical development lag behind my mental so? Perhaps Jacob letting me hunt alone this time was a sign that things were changing.

I sprang swiftly across the gorge, landing in a tree, adjacent to where my mountain lion was, but not close enough to alert him to my presence. I made a few more small jumps, leaping from branch to branch, getting closer and closer to my prey. When I was close enough I sprang and easily incapacitated the beast. Seconds later, after sinking my teeth into his neck I had completely drained him. Scrumptious!

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jacob, with a huge smile on his face. "I knew you could do it, looks like you don't need my help anymore."

"Were you watching me the entire time?" I'd be willing to bet he hadn't even hunted himself, just followed me.

"Yeah, I wanted to give you a chance to try to take down something on your own, but couldn't risk being too far away, just in case. You know I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." He came over to me and wrapped me in a hug. "Congratulations!"

_Jacob, what could happen to me? I'm nearly as fast as a full Vampire, and almost as strong, much stronger than any animal, and my skin is impervious to their claws and teeth. What exactly did you think could happen to me? _I thought to him. Really the worst that would happen was me being too loud and spook the creature and loose my meal.

"I know that honey, but I can't help but worry." he shrugged, releasing me from the hug, but brought his arms down to hold my hands, keeping us connected.

"That's understandable, you're a Wolf, and I'm your Imprint. It's your job to protect me." I wonder if he ever stopped to think that maybe something got screwed up somewhere, in whatever mystical Quileute magic that connected us, with the Imprint bond though?

Jacob suddenly flinched, dropped my hands, and gave me a look, like I had just ripped his heart out. Oh no! He must have heard me and misunderstood what had I thought. I needed to clarify myself.

"No Jacob, what I meant is that I really don't need you to protect me. I'm not some weak little human, like the other Imprints." His face fell even further. Crap! I needed to try to make my point again without further upsetting him. I needed to choose my words very carefully. "It's just that . . . um, are you sure there isn't something more to Imprinting than just being my protector? The Quileute spirits must have brought us together for more than that right?"

Come on, I'm not stupid, I clearly had seen how all of the Wolves in La Push were romantically involved with their Imprints, (with the exception of Claire and myself, but we were children, well Claire was a child, I am . . . whatever this in-between thing, that I am, is.) But why had he never told me about the romantic side of Imprinting?

"What do you . . . hold on Nessie," Jacob broke off from whatever he was about to ask, as he retrieved his chiming cell phone from his pocket. "I needs to phase, something's wrong." Jacob quickly explained when he saw a text from Quil. Damn, I was so close to finally talking about this.

Jacob immediately turned into a Wolf, and with the direct connection to his Pack, found out whatever was wrong faster than talking over the phone. A minute later he phased back and was standing next to me telling me we had to go.

"What's wrong? Was there a Vampire attack, is one of the Wolves hurt?" That seemed the most obvious reason but my mind was running through a hundred other possibilities. Was Billy sick? Did Paul accidentally injure Rachel? Did something else happen in La Push?

"No nothing like that. Embry got arrested. I need to go bail him out." He seemed really pissed. I could understand why. Embry must have done something reckless to expose himself. Just like my family, all of the Wolves had to be so careful, all the time. It was too easy to get angry, lose control, and accidently hurt someone. But Jacob would have mentioned if some innocent person had been injured or even killed. Right?

"Jacob, what happened?"

"I'll tell you everything in the car, we need to drive to Portland, Oregon, it will take awhile." We had been hunting in Canada as usual, so it took us some time to run back to the car, but once we were there it was a long drive south, from Vancouver, Canada through Washington, and then into Oregon.

I had called my parents once in the car, to let them know what was going on. They did not like me going all the way to Oregon, but Jacob didn't want to waste any more time having to drop me off, back home first. That would have almost doubled his drive time. I know he did not want to risk leaving a possibly angry and explosive Wolf locked in a tiny jail cell for longer than necessary. That could be very bad.

After a bit of convincing, my parents understood, or at least relented, and agreed to let me go. Which was good, because I didn't see Jacob listening to them right then.

The trip normally would have taken over five hours, but Jacob drove double the speed limit, luckily avoiding any cop cars. Alice was able to warn us ahead of time of any potential trouble, like speeding tickets. She couldn't see us, but learned to see around us, and she could see my parents reaction to us getting a ticket, or worse, and called just in time for Jacob to slam on the breaks, when needed.

"So Jacob, now would you like to tell me what is going on?" We had been driving for over thirty-five minutes and he had not said a word, yet.

"Embry Imprinted," he said through a locked jaw. Why would that make him upset? Wasn't Imprinting a positive thing? And what did that have to do with him getting arrested?

"Um, Jacob, I am going to need more information than that." He took a deep breath. Whatever had happened had greatly upset him and he was desperately trying to calm down. I needed to give him some time so I waited patiently until he was ready. Eleven minutes later he began again, this time a lot calmer.

"Like I said, Embry Imprinted . . . over a year ago."

"Really? I had no idea, he never brought her around."

"That's because she rejected him." Jacob looked like he was angry and sad at the same time.

I felt so bad for Embry, he must be in so much pain. But why would she do that? "How is that possible, who would want to turn down a . . . _protector_."

He huffed. "Nessie, you were right before, Imprinting is more than just protecting your Imprint from harm." Duh!

Jacobs face looked worried, and I don't think it was because of Embry being locked in a jail cell anymore. "Why don't you start at the beginning. What happened with Embry last year?"

"He had gone to a club in Seattle with some of his new college _friends_. One of them spotted a cute girl across the room and on a dare, Embry went up behind her and said . . . used a disgusting and highly offensive pick-up line." It didn't look like Jacob was going to repeat whatever it was that he had said. "It wasn't something he would ever have done or said on his own, one of his stupid guys friends thought it up. But Embry's not one to turn down a dare, even one that obviously would never work. And of course she was offended and pissed at him. When she turned around, screaming and telling him off, their eyes met and Embry ended up Imprinting on her. It turned out she's from the Makah Tribe."

"The one north of La Push?"

"Yup, it's where Emily and Claire are from, too. Anyway after hearing his horrible pick-up line she wanted nothing to do with him and pretty much now hates him," Jacob said through a snarl before clearing his throat. "He had immediately started apologizing, groveling really. But nothing he said helped, not after he had offend her so badly. Really I'm surprised she hadn't slapped him right there on the spot." Oh!

Jacob took another deep breath. Talking about this seemed to be making him more and more upset, instead of calming him down like I had hoped. But I still think he needed to talk through why this was upsetting him so much. Thankfully he kept talking.

"I knew something was wrong with him, he had been acting odd this past year." Jake was shaking his head, clearly blaming himself. "Normally Embry's a carefree and happy guy, you know . . . when not overcome by hormonal Wolfy rage by a leec- err Vampire. But lately he's become more and more aggressive, lashing out, being extremely irritable, picking fights with the rest of the Pack. I tried to talk to him a few times, to find out what was wrong, but he refused and never thought of his Imprint, not even once when he was phased. I don't know how he managed that. He was keeping up with his patrol duties so I let it go. It must have been extremely difficult for him though. Maybe I should have used my Alpha voice and made him tell me what was wrong. Then he never would have gotten into this mess!" Jacob yelled, slamming his hands on the steering wheel, causing the car to momentarily swerve.

"Jacob, you know you would never do that. You have always told me how you hated when Sam would use it on you, and the rest of the Wolves. You vowed to never take someone's freewill away from them, and you never have. Embry made his own choice and now he just has to deal with it." Well, him, and us.

"I know you're right but I don't know why he didn't let us help him. We could have done something." Jacob was so agitated, fidgeting in the driver's seat. He was mad - some at Embry, but as Alpha more at himself.

"Well it's too late for that now, so just get over it and move on. If you go storming into the police station like this you are going to get yourself thrown in a cell too." Jacob desperately needed to calm down. I didn't think he was in danger of phasing but also didn't think he heard a word I just said.

"JACOB!" I yelled, grabbing his hand and repeated what I just said, this time using my gift so the words went directly into his head. I also sent him all the calming thoughts I could muster. It wasn't as good as Uncle Jasper's gift, but it looked like it was working. He stopped shaking at least.

Twenty minutes later, all the while still holding his hand and continuing to send calming vibes, when I was sure he was more relaxed I tried talking to him again.

"Embry has been spending the past year trying over and over to be with her, in any way she would let him, but she won't even talk to him," Jacob explained.

"I don't understand why he had to talk to her though. Couldn't he have kept an eye on this girl from afar? Made sure she didn't get hit by a bus or something, from a distance." I was pretty sure I actually did know, but I wanted, no _needed_ to hear it for myself from Jacob and have him confirm it.

It looked like he wanted to talk, to tell me the truth but at the same time he hesitated, debating with himself. "I guess you are getting old enough to know the truth," he signed. I've always been old enough. When I saw him take another deep breath before he started talking again, I got worried, but it wasn't like I could take my questions back. "Renesmee, Imprinting is more than just protecting your Imprint, and keeping them safe. It is a much deeper connection. Our Imprints . . . .well you are our . . . soulmates." He struggled but managed to get the last word out. I could see him taking his eyes off of the road to look at my reaction when he said it. I kept my face neutral, even though I wanted to break out into a giant grin. I wanted him to keep talking, to tell me everything, and after a brief pause, he continued. "We are connected to you like gravity. You draw us in. You already know that you are the one we would do anything and everything for, you're who we live for. But it's also an incredibly deep and intense _love_. It can be platonic like Quil and Claire currently have, or a more . . . romantic one like Paul and Rachel's. But we all have to be with our Imprints in some way. It hurts us physically to be away from you. We would do anything for you, _be_ anything for you, but we have to be with you in some way." He paused to take a few more deep breaths. "Do you understand? Do you have any questions?"

Nothing he said was news to me, but it felt good that he had confirmed what I had seen on my own while at La Push, and what I felt between Jacob and myself. I was about to say something, but before I could Jacob started talking again. I think he was too excited to hear what I was going to say. I didn't think it was possible but maybe he was nervous and wanted to delay it in case anything I said was going to be bad.

"Imprinting is how Wolves find their soulmates. But even if I never Imprinted on you Nessie, you'd still be my best friend and . . ." he didn't finish the sentence. "I would still feel the same way about you. It is just more like a helping hand, that led me to you sooner. Do you remember Jared, he's in Sam's Pack?" I nodded. "Well back in High School, in La Push, before he first phased Jared thought Kim was cute. Once he imprinted on her, it . . . gave him the confidence to ask her out, which was great news for her because she had had a huge crush on him. They were meant to be together." He glanced over at me again.

"So what went wrong in Embry's case?" I wanted to talk more about the true meaning of _our_ Imprinting but that could wait until later.

"A couple of days ago his Imprint went with a group of friends to Oregon, and he followed her, just to make sure she was safe. He had _accidentally_ run into her multiple times in Washington, but when she saw him in Oregon, so far from home, she realized he had followed her and must have thought he was obsessed or crazy. She started screaming, her friends were yelling, and Embry panicked. He didn't want to scare her more so he left, but once he was away from her he was so upset he phased. Eventually, once he calmed down enough, he phased back, but he wasn't thinking clearly because he didn't have any clothes and someone saw him. They ended up calling the police and he was arrested for indecency."

"Oh, no! How did Quil finally find this all out?"

"When Embry was phased, he was so upset he didn't seem to notice Quil was also in his Wolf form and didn't block his thoughts. Quil could see everything Embry had been hiding for the past year and a half."

"Jacob, we need to do something to help him, beyond just bailing him out of jail. We need to help _both_ of them, they belong together."

"I know Nessie. I already talked to the guys while I was phased, they are going to go talk to his Imprint when she returns to the Makah Reservation."

"I'm not sure if that is a very good idea. She has essentially been _stalked_ for over a year, by a very tall, very imposing, very muscular man. I don't think sending all of his big, equally well built, and intimidating buddies to talk to her will go over very well."

"Sure, sure. I can see how that might not be the best thing. But what else can I do? She needs to see that she has nothing to worry about with Embry and will probably be very happy with him around, even if they do just become friends."

"Why don't you ask some of the Imprints from Sam's Pack to go talk to her instead. I'm sure she would be much more comfortable speaking with a group of women. I could go too, and maybe Claire could come with me."

"That's a wonderful idea, Nessie. But I don't think Claire should go. She is just a child."

"But that is why she should go. So this woman, that Embry has Imprinted on, can see that he won't hurt her, that there is no danger."

"I can see why you would think that Nessie, but I need to think of Claire too. Like you, she was not told everything about Imprinting. She will be, when she's older, and the time is right. But don't you think it would be confusing for her if she found out now when she's still so young that one day, Quil, who has always been her best friend would be . . . that is, he could be . . . if she wanted . . . that they would be . . . um, together -"

I got the feeling that we were no longer just talking about Claire and Quil anymore.

"Jacob, I am sure that _Claire_ can see how much _Quil_ loves her and I know how much _she_ already loves _him_. I am fully confident that when she is old enough she will effortlessly transition from platonic to romantic love just like the rest of the Imprints, if she wants to. Give her some credit, she understands more than you think."

Jacob's mouth erupted into a gleaming white grin that I loved, understanding my meaning, but then got serious again. "I don't know. I'll need to talk to Quil about this. It affects him as well. He deserves a say."

"If it makes you feel better I can keep Claire away from the romance portion of the Imprinting talk. We can just be there for the basics and then excuse ourselves. I'm sure I'll be able to think of some reason for us to not be there the entire time."

"That would be perfect Nessie. Thank you."

"No problem my Jacob." After a minute of neither one of us talking I changed topics, slightly. "Jacob, can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask me anything, Nessie. What is it?"

I was not sure I could ask out loud so I placed my hand on his. _Am I the only Imprint not from either the La Push or Makah Tribe?_

"Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

My question didn't seem to upset him, so with my confidence restored I switched back to talking out loud. "Don't you think that's strange? All of the Wolves Imprinted on someone from either your Tribe or that of your closest relatives. I'm not one of you, I'm not even human, well not completely. How did you end up Imprinting on me? It seems beyond unlikely."

Jacob got very quiet again. What did I say this time to upset him?

"Well Sam, and some of the Elders have a theory. Not about you, particularly, but on why a Wolf Imprints on one person over another."

He stopped talking again. Oh no! _Are you going to . . . I mean . . . _can_ you share this theory with me?_

"Um, well," he looked nervous now, "remember it's only a theory, but Sam thinks that we Imprint on the person who we will . . . create . . . um, well . . . who we have the greatest ability to, err . . . _reproduce_ with . . . and create the strongest Wolves with." He looked over at me apprehensively.

That would make sense. The people from the two Tribes should have the most compatible genes that would be more likely to produce the desired outcome for the next generation of Wolves. "But that still doesn't explain me," I said, but then as I thought more about it, it started to make sense. "Of course being half-Vampire, I guess a part-Wolf/part-Vampire child would be extremely strong."

"You're taking all of this really well Nessie," he said, but I wasn't so sure if I was or not. I was still processing the reproductive aspect of Imprinting. That facet had never dawned on me and I wasn't sure what I wanted anymore. Jacob immediately sensed my internal conflict. "You have a choice though, we don't have to be together that way, if you don't want to. We can just stay best friends. It's completely your choice. And you don't have to decide until you are older anyway. I never meant to tell you this so soon . . . Edward will probably want to kill me when we get home," he smile while rolling his eyes at how my father tends to overreact to things sometimes.

"I think you're safe, he won't try to eat you . . . probably," I chuckled. And I should confess that I already knew most of it, I just needed to hear you say it. And I'm sorry if I upset you, but felt that it was, for some reason, important that I hear the truth from you and not what I had already figured out on my own." Then I added with my gift, _Sam's theory was news to me though. _That seemed to make both of us uneasy. "Maybe all of the un-Imprinted Wolves should take a field trip up to the Makah Reservation. It seems to be a great match maker." I added to lighten the mood back up.

It worked. We both chuckled and spent the remainder of the car ride talking about random things to pass the time until we reached our destination. Time to bail out Embry!

* * *

Thanks for reading.

I thought this chapter was all set a week ago but as i was about to post it i gave it a final read and realized that I needed to redo a lot. i think it works much better now. Hope you like it.

Please review. Thanks


	22. Jake and Embry's Talk

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Jake and Embry's Talk**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

While Nessie said she already knew most of the soulmate stuff I had said when explaining Embry's Imprinting disaster, Sam's Wolf progeny theory was news to her. She told me that she was fine with everything and . . .well, I wanted to believe her, but didn't.

This wouldn't be the first time she would seem fine originally, but then freak out after she had some time to really let things sink in. She had also been _fine_ right after hearing about my past with Bella. It wasn't until the next morning, after she slept, when her subconscious took over and she had a chance to let everything sink in, that the trouble started. It took months for us to get past all of the awkwardness. And yet that's nothing compared to the nightmares she got, and still suffers from, after the Volturi _left_.

I had hoped Nessie would be happy with that I revealed to her, but she showed no signs if it. It could be that Nessie was just too young and probably hadn't even thought of what our future together could be, or it could be the opposite. I really didn't want Nessie's mind to be tormented, or in this case confused or scared or whatever she ended up feeling, but I had to tell her, she needed to know the truth. I couldn't lie to her any longer, even if it had only been a lie by omission. I guess I would just have to see what happened. Most likely I would have my answer soon after she woke up tomorrow. For right now I had other things to worry about.

After almost three hours in the car we arrived at the courthouse lockup where Embry was being held. After another hour of paperwork and $7500, Embry was released, with the understanding he would need to reappear in three months, for his trial.

I once swore I would never use the Cullen's money if I could help it. My, how times have changed. I was not even thinking about bail money when we started driving. Luckily Nessie did when she called home. Edward had somehow found out exactly how much we needed and had the money waiting for us at a nearby bank. At least their money wasn't permanently gone, they would get all of it back when Embry showed up for his court hearing, sometime in September.

"Thanks Jake," Embry mumbled as he slumped into the backseat of Edward's car. My Rabbit barley made the trip to Hoodsport, and would never survive weekly hunting trips to Canada. The Volvo's backseat wasn't exactly built for someone of Embry's size, but he would just have to deal.

"You need to thank the Cullens. It's their money that got you out," I snapped at him, then immediately felt bad. Being rejected by your Imprint was probably the worst thing that could happen to a Wolf. I have no idea what I would do if Nessie decides someday that she no longer wanted me in her life. But I was also pissed, at him for not coming to me. And at myself for not trying harder. While I tried over and over to get him to open up and talk I should have done more, but he was so stubborn and now look at the mess he got himself into. "Would you like to talk now?"

"I . . . I'm sorry." I thought he said with a stutter. Being yelled at by his Alpha was a sure sign he was about to get his butt kicked in the very near future. But looking in the rear view mirror I saw that he was actually fighting to calm down. I probably should have tried to control my own anger better. He had probably already been on the verge of phasing as it was.

"No, I am," I apologized. "Let's get out of here." Throwing the car into gear I rushed us out of the courthouse parking lot as fast as I dared. "I'll get us to the closest forest, hold on." It was going to be a race to see if we could make it in time before he phased.

Nessie pulled up directions on her phone. Eight miles, mostly through suburbia. This was going to be close. Risking going over the speed limit, I pushed the car into third and swerved around traffic, ran few yellow and two red lights, blew through a stop sign, and lost eleven precious seconds when I had to slam on the brakes to avoid a group of jaywalking teenagers.

"FASTER JACOB!" Nessie screamed.

There it was, right over the horizon. It looked like luck was on our side. There was a clear shot of empty road between where we were and the edge of trees. Slamming on the gas the car groaned as we completed the last 200 feet. Embry had the door open even before we were halfway there, but that was a good thing because he threw himself out of the car, phasing before he even hit the ground. We weren't to the woods yet but there was no one in sight. His phasing in the car wouldn't have killed Nessie or I (I think) but we wouldn't have had a car to drive home in either.

It took a couple of hours of running but once he had burned off enough of his excess stress and had calmed down to be able to phase back he jogged up to us. I asked Nessie to wait in the car a minute as I took off my pants for Embry, since he exploded out of his, leaving me Alice's expanding shorts. Once he phased back, and dressed, Nessie rejoined us. Time to talk.

"Better?" he nodded, while slumping down on a fallen tree. "Good. Think you can tell me what happened? I already got the details from Quil, but why the big secret?"

"I thought I could handle this on my own," he sighed, looking up at me apologetically. "Everyone else is so happy with their Imprints. I didn't want to be the one failure. I just couldn't admit to everyone how badly I screwed up. She hates me." He wasn't crying but was close. "Jake, my soulmate hates me! You should have just left me in there. Maybe I would have gotten lucky, lost control, and phased in front of everyone. Then the guards would have had to have shot me, and this torment would be over."

"Oh, Embry. Don't think like that," Nessie sighed rushing to his side and wrapping him in a hug. She was always so understanding and compassionate. "And don't worry. We already have a plan that I _know_ will fix everything. It will be okay, we will get you with your Imprint. What's her name anyway?"

"Colleen." Embry smiled for the first time, just from saying her name. "She's wonderful. She must be the kindest, sweetest person in the world, to everyone, well except for me, but that's my fault. You should see her. She is not just kind, she's beautiful, too. She has super sleek, glossy straight dark brown hair that goes just past her shoulders, that contrasts so perfectly with her amazing hazel eyes. You should see them, I could look at them for hours. And her voice, it's like she sings when she speaks, of course I have mostly only heard her yelling at me, but when I've watched her from a distance and she's talking with her friends, it's this lovely sing-song sound that makes me melt. And her body . . . "

"EMBRY!" I shouted "Not that we don't love hearing about your . . . Colleen, but could you keep some things to yourself." Really? Did he forget how old Nessie was? I didn't need him talking like that in front of her.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. So you mentioned you had a plan to get us together?"

He started to look optimistic as Nessie and I explained how the Imprints would try and talk to her. I hoped Nessie's plan worked. But there was no guarantee. Maybe if Embry had come to us in the beginning, but who knows what she had been through over the past year with him.

We had made our way back into the car and were heading back to La Push.

"I think before the Imprints go and talk to Colleen we should phase so you can show me everything that happened between the two of you, in case there are any potential landmines that they should watch out for."

"If you think that is best. I'll do anything to make this right. I just don't know how I screwed this up so badly. She never let me explain, if she only let me tell her . . ."

"You can't keep thinking like that. Feeling sorry for yourself is not helping. If my plan works, it's only going to open the door for you to be able to talk to her. You're going to have to relax and stop making excuses. You can't be so self loathing, Embry. No offence but that is not very attractive to women. Trust me, I am one, and know what I am talking about," Nessie smirked proudly.

"Don't worry Nessie, as soon as he's talking to her face-to-face and not creeping around spying on her in some bushes I'm sure he'll be much better."

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

One week after bailing Embry out of jail, Jacob dropped me off at Claire's mother's house on the Makah Reservation. I was going to accompany her, along with the other Imprints, to the café Colleen agreed to meet us at. It turned out that Emily was friends with Colleen's Aunt Betty. Betty managed to set this meeting up for us. She didn't know about the Wolves, or Imprinting, but she knew she could trust Emily and that was enough for her.

"Hi Claire," I said after she opened their front door. "How are you?"

"Nessie," she yelled as she leapt into my arms. "I missed you."

"Me, too. Are you ready to go?"

"Yup."

"Just one thing, Renesmee," her mom called from the kitchen. "Claire has a play date in an hour. Do you think you'll be back in time? I can call and reschedule if you're going to be out longer."

"It won't be a problem. We're not going far, just down the street to the café for breakfast." That was the official story for her mother anyway. A special breakfast just to catch up. She knew we had hung out last year at La Push, with Jacob and Quil, but had never met me, so my current progressed age and appearance were not alarming to her. Claire had simply accepted my rapid growth long ago, children were unquestioningly innocent like that.

This was perfect, having to return Claire in only an hour meant we could talk to Colleen and then excuse ourselves without any hassle. Claire would not be privy to hearing any imprinting details she was not ready for yet. Quil would be happy. He was going to have to explain things to her someday, but he probably had at least another decade to figure out what he was going to say.

It was early in the morning, when we arrived and the café was virtually empty, save for the few employees and ourselves.

Colleen was already there when we arrived. She seemed a little nervous meeting everyone. But I think I was right before. Claire and myself being there really helped her settle down. A five year old little girl and 13 year old teenager were the exact opposite of threatening. She was still anxious meeting all of us, but it was a public space after all, so she hopefully wouldn't feel too overwhelmed.

After we all sat down and ordered some food, Colleen was the first to speak. "So, my Aunt Betty said you wanted to talk to me about something important, but she didn't mention what it was."

"Yes dear, thank you for meeting with us. My name is Emily and this is my husband Sam," she said while showing Colleen a picture of him on her cell phone. "And this is Rachel and Paul," she continued as Rachel showed her a picture of him. She did the same for Kim, Claire and me as we each held up images for her, of Jared, Quil, and Jacob respectively. Claire didn't have a phone, but brought a picture of Quil with her, instead.

"Ok, so you all have pictures of guys on your phone, so?"

"Yes, I was just getting to that. We would like you to look at one more picture, but first there are some things we need to talk to you about. Claire would you like to go first?"

"Yes I would, Auntie Emily" she seemed very happy that her Aunt suggested we start with her. "My Quil is the most wonderful person in the whole wide world. He is my best friend. We love each other soooooo much. We play Barbie's, and dress up, and fairy princesses, watch cartoons, and play tag, and so much more. He is awesome."

She kept talking, telling Colleen different stories of things the two of them did together as our waitress brought everyone's breakfast.

I gobbled up my scrambled eggs as Claire talked, but her stories kept coming and coming. My meal came with a side of fruit, so with nothing else to do, and wanting to look as normal as possible for Colleen, I hesitantly took a bite. While the banana slices weren't my favorite, I forced them down. The strawberries however were delicious. Why hadn't anyone ever told me how good strawberries were?

"Thank you Claire, that was very good." Emily smiled at her when Claire finally ran out of stories to tell. She was so cute when she talked, which was probably helped by the fact that her cheeks were puffed out, packed with blueberry pancakes. I didn't know how she could talk with her mouth so full but she did it. And with a smile.

"Well, it's unfortunate that this little girl has some pervert guy hanging out with her all the time. You're her Aunt, why don't you just call the police? What do you think I am going to do about it?" Colleen whispered to Emily, too low for Claire to hear, but I still could with my enhanced half-Vampire hearing. While I found her stories endearing, Colleen misinterpreted the point and now looked even more uncomfortable after hearing Claire speak.

"You misunderstand. Quil has an innocent, platonic love for Claire. He would never do anything to her that would cause her harm in any way. He's her protector. He cares for her, looks after her, he even helps raise her. He's her best friend." Then she added in a whisper, "Someday they may be more, but not until she has grown up."

"That is gross. You people are weird. I think I should leave." Colleen started to get up.

"No, please let us explain. There is this thing that happens to some of the guys from the La Push Reservation. It is called Imprinting. It is sort of, this kind of ancient tribal magic. I know it sounds strange but I assure you it is _real_ and is how a lucky few members of the Tribe find their soulmates," Kim explained.

"My Quil printed on me soooooooo long ago, when I was two. Then he got to be my best friend forever. We do everything together." Claire exclaimed, happily.

"Nessie, here," Kim added, gesturing over to me, "was Imprinted on by Jacob when she was just a baby."

"It's true. At first he was like a nanny, feeding me my bottle and stuff, then as I got older he became my playmate, and now he is my best friend and buddy." I left out how that all happened just over the past two years. This was probably weird enough for her already without adding my accelerated growth rate into it. "There is nothing _inappropriate_ about our current relationship, I assure you."

"But you expect that to change in the future?" Colleen asked me.

"Um, Claire, why don't we go take a potty break?" Rachel said, grabbing her hand and practically dragging her from the table. Thank goodness. Claire was not supposed to hear this part of Imprinting, yet.

I waited until she was out of earshot before continuing. "When I grow up, that would be my decision. We could just remain friends, similar to how we are now or become something more; like what Emily, Kim and Rachel have. Emily and Sam are married, Kim and Jared are in a committed relationship, and Rachel and Paul just had their first child together last year. But no matter what I decide Jacob would respect my decision. He would never force me into anything I didn't want, though I could never see myself being without him. He will always be in my life, in some way. Jacob has only had, and forever will have, only my best interests at heart."

"It's part of the Imprinting. None of the . . . _guys," _Kim added in, catching herself, before accidentally revealing that they were Wolves, "could or would want to hurt us, in anyway. They would be hurting themselves even more, by doing so."

Colleen still didn't look convinced.

"Hey, guys. We are back." Rachel announced loudly so everyone would hear, bringing Claire back to the table. "But I think Claire and Nessie have to get going now. Claire told me she has a very exciting play date to go to."

"Oh, you are right. Claire it's getting late, we need to get you home." I said as I rose from the table and gave the remaining Imprints some goodbye hugs. I hoped things start improving in the conversation once we left. We couldn't let Embry down. "It was nice meeting you Colleen. I hope to see you again in the future."

After walking Claire home I called Jacob. He was just a few blocks away visiting with Emily's family. When he came to pick me up I showed him a replay of everything that had happened using my gift before he started to drive us home.

He gave me a dismayed look.

"The rest of them are still there talking to Colleen. Emily, Kim, and Rachel will do fine. I have complete confidence in them."

"Let's hope so. It didn't seem to get off to the best start." Jacob said. He looked sad. Was he really that worried about Embry?

"Jacob, they will convince her, I am sure of it. Embry will be with his Imprint."

"I know Nessie, you did a great job. I don't know how much Claire helped though. It seemed like Colleen was worried you guys wanted to abduct her into some weird cult." He laughed a bit, but I could tell something was bothering him.

"Don't worry, the girls know what they are doing, it will work." He hadn't started driving but was also not even looking at me, just clenching the wheel and staring out the window. What was going on? This was more than being worried about Embry. "Jacob, what else is wrong?"

"Oh . . . it's . . . nothing," he said, snapping out of whatever, and started the car. He was trying to cover his true feelings with a smile but I knew better.

"Jacob please, I know something's wrong. Just tell me," I pleaded, grabbing the wheel so he couldn't start driving and claim he couldn't talk while concentrating on the road.

"Really, it's nothing. It's just -" I could tell he felt, through our Imprint bond, how much I wanted to know the truth. It seemed to compel him to answer me. "It's just . . . did you really mean it? What you showed me in your vision? That you might not choose me? No, don't answer that." He started backtracking and talking very fast, "I shouldn't have asked you. It's your choice and whatever you decide will be the right one. Just being in your life, in some way, is all I need."

"Oh, my Jacob, I love you. You know that. And you will always be my Jacob. I only said what I did to Colleen so that she would know that she had a choice. That we were not forcing Embry on her. That would be the one sure way to get her running away from him. Taking a person's choices away pretty much guarantees they will pick almost any other option, if they can."

He relaxed, looked at me for the first time since getting into the car, and finally, _really_ smiled. "You will always have a choice with me Nessie."

"I know." I smiled back. "Do you wish you had a choice, Jacob?"

"No, and I don't need one. Why would I want to be without my soulmate?" he turned his whole body, which was difficult being such a large guy, wedged into the front seat of my father's Volvo. But now he could look me straight in the eyes. "People go their entire lives just trying to find what I already have. There is no one, on this planet, more perfect for me than you. Just being near you makes me happy."

"I feel the same way." I said closing the distance between us and wrapping him in a hug. "Come on, let's go home." He nodded and started to drive.

It was a bit strange though. I always accepted Jacobs love for me, but he did not have a choice. And didn't I just say how normal people tend to fight when they are not given a choice? Look what happened between Embry and Colleen. She hates him. Yes, it was partially his fault, but even when she yelled at him, all he seemed to think about was how lovely her voice sounded. It seemed more than a little bewildering.

But, then again, I have seen the other side of Imprinting; when everything worked as it should. I saw the results of the Imprinting magic with Paul and Rachel, Sam and Emily, and Jared and Kim. I saw how happy it made them. And they were truly happy. There was no need to doubt Jacob's love for me, I saw it every day, in everything he did. I heard the stories and know how he was happier being with me than he had been before I was born. I was his soulmate. And like he said, who would not want to be with their soulmate? I know I did.

* * *

Thoughts?


	23. Summer Developments

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Summer Developments**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

I'm not sure what it was, but over this summer Nessie's scent slowly began to change. It was subtle, and I don't think I consciously noticed it at first.

Actually Edward was the one who . . . err, pointed it out to me one day. He had just finished giving Nessie her piano lesson. Then as we had been doing over the past few months (in order to help me get better at the guitar for school) she was working with me, teaching me the songs Edward had just shown her. He would hang around if we needed additional help, but the credit, for any amount of improvement in my playing, would definitely have to go to her. Anyway, Nessie was correcting my finger placement on the guitars neck when I leaned in and took a deep breath, it couldn't have been more than half an inch, but Edward noticed. He didn't say anything, but gave me a strange look, as if to ask what I was doing. To be honest, I didn't know. She just smelled so good and it drew me in.

I wasn't sure if that was the first time I had done it before, but after that I noticed that her aroma was changing, becoming even more amazing than normal. I couldn't put my finger on it. Nessie normally had this wonderful aroma that reminded me of bouquet of honeysuckle and vanilla. But lately it somehow seemed . . . intensified. Not in a bad way, like the overwhelmingly sickeningly sweet stink of a Vampire, this was not overpowering like her families, just better, somehow.

Maybe it was just one of those changes that came with her aging. That would be amazing, if the older she got, over the next couple of years, the better and stronger her natural, beautiful fragrance became. I couldn't get enough of her scent right now, as it was. Damn she smelled good.

I wonder if she was smelling this good to everyone or if it was just me? I mean I knew I could smell it, but was that because I was Wolf? And did that mean that all Wolves could smell her (if they were here), or just me because of the Imprint? Could her family smell the change in her aromas intensity? Edward never mentioned anything. And what about Nahuel, would he notice it when he returned? _That_ thought made me mad. Things were going to go from bad to worse between the two of us. I didn't want him close enough to smell her.

That got me thinking about other boys, teenage boys. I wonder if human boys would be able to sense how amazing she smelt? If they did it would be a challenge keeping all of those discussing, horny teenage boys away from her. I know how they thought, I use to be one. Nessie was just a kid, no matter how incredibly smart she was, but she was starting to look older and older. Okay she barely looked like a teenager, for now, but she was getting older, fast. This would not be good.

Wait. What is wrong with me? Why am I even thinking this? She doesn't even see boys. She's basically stuck at home all day. There are no boys around her. I needed to calm down. There is nothing to worry about. Her smell changed, that was it. She changed all the time.

Maybe it was just a phase, or the result of something she ate. Come to think of it she had been eating more fruit lately, something she had rarely done before. Maybe that was the cause of the change. Maybe it wouldn't even last. In fact her scent might even be back to normal already, since she fed on deer blood yesterday.

I'll have to check when she gets back from shopping with Alice. They had been out all morning. She enjoyed shopping and hanging out with Alice. I missed her, but knew she needed the occasional girl time without me. And I heard her tell Bella and Alice that she wanted to start picking out her own clothes and not just wear whatever Alice bought her.

When the two of them got home around four, the multiple thumping noises along with a crunching of paper told me they probably dropped their bags at the front door. That was strange. But then Nessie appeared at the Kitchen entrance.

"How was shopping honey?" Bella asked from across the room. She was washing the dishes from the lunch she just made me, as I sat at the table eating. I had told her she didn't need to, that I could do it, but she had insisted, and since her cooking was a lot better than mine I didn't object. I think she was just looking for something to do while Edward was away hunting.

When we have been away from each other, for any significant amount of time, Nessie and I normally rushed over to each other for a hug. But that didn't happen today. Today she walked right by me, towards Bella, with a strange expression on her face. She gave me a sideways glance as she passed by, but didn't stop.

I immediately tensed up. Did something happen? I knew it, some stupid teenage boy must have smelled her amazing new scent and did or said something _inappropriate_. If they even made her uncomfortable I wound need to _find_ them. I should never have let her out of my sight!

There was something else. As she passed by me a new smell hit my nose. It was Nessie's, but it wasn't the same one that I had been overwhelmed by the previous weeks, or even this morning. Was she changing again? I thought it had been slowing down. Quickly running my eyes over her form, she looked slightly older than the week before, seeing her next to Bella I realized she had gotten a little taller, no longer matching her Aunt's height, and was closer to Bella's, but it didn't look like her growth had sped up even more than normal. Thank goodness, I was barely able to keep up with her rapid growth spurts as it was.

"Nessie has some big news Bella." Alice looked ridiculously happy as she jumped up and down from the doorway. I guess there weren't any guys I needed to pummel. Maybe it was just a fashion emergency, or something.

"Shopping was great, mom. First we went to the shoe store and I found the cutest pair of ballerina flats and these brown fringe boots," Nessie said, while grabbing Bella's hand, probably to project an image of the shoes into her mother's head.

"That's nice dear. Anything else?" Bella never cared for fashion as a human and her attitude seemed to have gotten slightly better as a Vampire, but still was not at Alice's or Nessie's level.

"Of course mom. I needed to replace my entire wardrobe. I grew four inches and nothing fits me." That much? "Anyway I'll show you everything in my room later if you're really interested, but I have to tell you what happened next. It's so . . . um, exciting," she exclaimed. I started smiling at how happy she was and I hadn't even heard why. "After we left the shoe store we went looking for clothes. But we had to make a detour first." Then she looked over to me and her voice dropped to a whisper, not that it stopped me from hearing what she said next. "We had to go to the convenience store." She glanced over to me again and I knew she was going to drop her voice even lower so I strained to hear what she was going to say. "I had to buy tampons. I got my period mom, isn't that great!"

I started choking on my meatball sub. Nessie looked like she was about fourteen years old now, so I guess it shouldn't have been so much of a surprise to me, yet it was. Carlisle wasn't entirely sure it would even happen. No one had ever asked Nahuel if he knew what went on regarding his sisters on that front.

"Are . . . are you okay Jacob?" The three of them looked over at me.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, sorry Bella." I used my hand to brush up the crumbs that I coughed up. Nessie looked so embarrassed. I wasn't sure if it was because I had heard what she said or because of my reaction to her news. Now I felt horrible for the effort I had put into listening. If I hadn't tried so hard I probably would have missed what she said. But maybe I could still help. "Um, how are you feeling Nessie? I remember my sisters going through that a little, um, and I guess it can be . . . um, . . . uncomfortable?" Man, I didn't want to be having this conversation but I wanted, no _needed_ to make sure Nessie wasn't in any pain. I couldn't stand it if she was hurting. "Do you need some chocolate or aspirin," what else had Rachel dug out of the closet every month, "or, um. . . a heating pad?" I think that was it.

"Jake, why don't you go for a run and get some air for a while? I think I can handle this." Bella was a life saver. But I needed to know Nessie was okay first.

"Mom's right," Nessie looked so embarrassed as she spoke. "I'm fine, and this is more of a woman thing, if you don't mind? I would like to talk to my mom . . . _alone_?"

She stressed the last word. I guess I could go. She clearly did not want to talk about this in front of me. I knew she was in good hands with Bella, she was her mother after all. It just hurt every time I was away from her.

"Alright sweetheart. I'll see you in a bit." I said to her as I went over to her, placed a kiss on the top of her head and left out the back door.

I needed to think about things and clear my head. In under a second I had phased into a Wolf and was off running through the forest.

* * *

Renesmee's Point of View

* * *

Today was a turning point in my life. I finally began menstruating! Okay so "finally" wasn't exactly the right word, since I wasn't even three yet.

It was a relief that Jacob was okay leaving for a while, while I talked to my mother. I know he hated being away from me, and I him, but it was not something I could talk about with him around. I knew it was not like it was going to stay a secret, he could probably smell the blood as soon as I entered the house. I saw the look on his face when I walked past him. I must smell horrible to him right now.

It was weird. As embarrassed as I was, that I had blurted it out in front of my Jacob, I was also so excited. I understand most girls don't enjoy getting their period, but it was different for me. I know I am not normal. My body and mind grow so fast, but my mind has always been so much farther ahead of my body, it was nice that my body was catching up. Finally my body was growing into that of a woman's. My mind had developed to where it was somewhat comparable with an adults, over a year prior, just after my first birthday. It was hard to decipher exactly, with my having not only an eidetic memory, but also advanced reasoning and understanding from, well, even before my birth.

But now it seemed like so many new possibilities were open up to me. I felt like I had wasted so much time waiting for my body to catch up with my mind. I couldn't wait to take this next step in my life.

"Renesmee honey, do you have any questions? Is there anything you would like to talk about?" my mother asked a minute after Jacob left, giving him time to get out of hearing range.

"Just a couple of things, mom. Aunt Alice went over the basics, which I had already read in Grandpa's medical books. And I was able to figure out the tampons from the instructions on the box."

"Yeah, sorry about that kid, no tampons back in my day, not that I actually remember my day, anyway," Aunt Alice laughed to herself. While sad, I was glad she could joke about the fact that she had no memories of her human life. I don't think I could be so glib about it. But she always seemed to make the best of everything.

"I was wondering if everyone in the family is going to be okay with me here?"

"What do you mean, why wouldn't we be okay?"

"Bella, I think she is worried about the blood." My Aunt explained before turning to me. "But you have nothing to worry about Nessie. It's not the same, and it is definitely not appealing to us, at all. Could you imagine Jasper trying to step one foot inside of a high school where at any time, up to one quarter of the female population have their periods," she giggled.

I'd never thought of that. It made sense though.

"That's a relief."

"So honey, I know you told Jake you were fine, but are you in any pain or discomfort?"

"No, mom, I wasn't lying just to make Jacob feel better. I feel fine."

"Are you sure? No cramps, headaches, nausea?"

"No, but I'll keep you informed if there's any changes." She seemed almost disappointed that I wasn't in pain.

"That's good. Well then . . . do you have any questions for me?"

"Just one. Why did Jacob offer me chocolate? He knows I dislike most human food."

"Oh," she smirked, and so did Aunt Alice. "Chocolate is one of those things that seems to fix most female problems. Back when I was human I remember that whenever I had a really bad day, was moody, hormonal, sad, angry, annoyed . . ."

"But that doesn't make sense. Why would that –"

"Let me handle this Bella," Aunt Alice stepped in. "We know how much you love reading and learning, so, while I haven't studied medicine like Carlisle, Rose or Edward here is the basic scientific version - Chocolate is loaded with sugar and during the early parts of a women's menstrual cycle hormone levels cause an increase in insulin in the body. Most women also crave chocolate because it mimics serotonin and dopamine, whose levels also drop around this time."

"The other big reason is the taste," my mother broke back in. "It doesn't have any appeal to me anymore but humans think that Chocolate is delicious." She made a face, showing her disgust at the thought of eating it now.

"Oh, alright." I guess. That's a lot for one food to be able to do.

"Do you want to try some. Jake loves it and there's probably a candy bar or ten hiding somewhere in the house."

"No thanks," my face scrunched up, mimicking my mothers.

"Okay. Any other questions?" I shook my head. "You know we are going to need to tell Carlisle about this." She seemed sorry to have to tell me.

"I figured as much." I said with a sigh. He was probably going to want to give me an exam. Great! "But first would you like to see all of the new clothes we bought?" I was stalling. "Alice insisted we get some pretty bras too. I love them; the lacy ones are so pretty."

"Alice, you bought my daughter bras?" Mom did not seem happy.

"Oh, calm down Bella, I also got her some training bras for now. She should start getting use to them, even if she doesn't need real ones yet. The others can stay in her drawer until she does. I bought a bunch of different sizes, just to be ready, when the time comes. And if she got her period today, it means she will probably need them soon enough."

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

The night Nessie got her first period guys in the Cullen household seemed to suddenly all need to go hunt. They even asked me if I wanted to go with them. I found the timing a bit suspicious but they assured me that they didn't have a problem with Nessie having her period. I had been worried about that, the whole blood issue. I'm always concerned about her safety, not that I thought her family would ever hurt her, but it still worried me. But Carlisle assured me that it was different and wouldn't be a problem for them. So now I was left wondering why Edward and the rest of the guys felt the need to leave. Actually I don't think Edward was dealing very well with the latest physical change in his daughter and might have just needed some time to regroup. Edward could have moped just as easily around here, but he probably left so Nessie wouldn't see how upset he was. He didn't want her to grow up any faster than I did.

Then again maybe it was something else, entirely. I guess I would find out eventually . . . maybe.

It would have been fun to go with them but Nessie asked me to stay with her, and since I can't say no to her, I stayed. Bells and the rest of the ladies also stayed home with us, "moral support" they said, but after a couple of days without their mates they started to get noticeably upset that they had not returned.

Meanwhile, Nessie's scent had returned to normal. Or the new normal, that had replaced her previous less intense scent, earlier this summer. I wonder if, with her accelerated growth she also had faster or shorter periods? I thought my sisters had them for like six or seven days, not two. Not that I paid that much attention back then, it just seemed like that was how long they were extra cranky.

I wasn't sure where Edward and the others went but they must have been out of cell phone range, or were just not answering them. Bella, Blondie, and the others decided that, since Nessie's period was over, they were going to go hunt them down, promising to be back in a day or two. They left earlier this morning. That meant Nessie and I had the house to ourselves. We were going to have a special movie night tonight.

It was not very often that the house was completely empty. But whenever it was, we would stay up late, act silly, put on the most ridiculous _supernatural_ movies we could find, and make fun of them. It was not really something that the rest of the family enjoyed. They were always too serious, except of course Emmett. Occasionally, if he was also home, he would join us, but he preferred spending his nights with Rose. I couldn't really blame him. Even if I haven't had any of those desires since I Imprinted I still remember the feeling.

Movie night seemed to be one of the only times Nessie let her guard down and allowed herself to be carefree and comical, acting more like her physical age. I'm not sure if she really liked it or if she was doing it just for me, but I loved it, and I loved her even more for sharing it with me. Deep down I truly think she liked it as much as me, though.

Everything was all set for tonight. I had a stack of DVDs picked out, ironically from the families own movie collection, well Emmett's collection. We order a few different kinds of pizzas, knowing I would probably eat most of them. Nessie had hunted a few days ago, and was still full from the blood. That's fine, more for me.

We started the night off with _Blade. _Nessie oddly identifying with the title character, both being half-Vampires, but I didn't get it. That was where the similarities ended. Bella didn't die, sort-of, Nessie didn't hunt down others of her kind, Vampires couldn't be killed by sunlight or silver. The list went on and on. Making fun of these ridiculous Vampire _facts_ was my favorite part of watching these movies.

Around 9pm, we were somewhere into the middle of the second Blade film. The movie room was windowless, giving it a real theater feel, which made it easier to see the screen. Since we never turned the lights on in this room (come to think of it I wasn't sure this room actually had lights), the only illumination was coming from the gigantic 70 inch TV screen, but I could still see a devilish look in her eyes. I knew that look, she was planning something. But what?

"Jacob, what's that?" she questioned rather innocently, while her fingers started roaming over my shirt.

"What honey?" Did I spill some pizza on myself? Just as I looked down, she started tickling me. I knew it. The little devil.

Her hands were everywhere, attacking my sides unmercifully. Then they slipped under my shirt, she lifted it up and blew a huge raspberry on my stomach. I was laughing hysterically and couldn't do anything to stop her. She was planting raspberry after raspberry first on my stomach, without stopping her assault on my ribs with her fingers. She was still going, I never realized I was so ticklish. And could not stop laughing.

Then I felt something different. Her hands stopped moving and that wasn't more raspberries!

"Um, Nessie? What are you doing?" Was she kissing my chest?

"Huh? Is something wrong my Jacob?" She only stopped briefly to ask her question then continued, again.

Oh God! Wrong does not even being to explain this. She just looked too young still. I know she was mentally a lot older than the 14 physical years she portrayed, but it still seemed highly inappropriate.

"Nessie, could you stop for a minute. I think we need to talk about this." I grabbed her hands, which had started roaming around, but that didn't stop the other things she was doing.

"Talk about what?" Kiss. "You're my Jacob." Kiss. "You Imprinted on me." Kiss. "We belong together." Kiss. "End of story." Then she finally stopped and sat up. "Did I miss something?"

Feeling it was safe to let go of her, I picked her up and sat her next to me on the couch. "Nessie what you just said is true, but there is more to it than that. We can't BE together like that." Not yet.

"Why not? I love you and you love me. Don't you?" her face fell. It reminded me of the burning man Edward became when he thought he was going to lose Bella when pregnant with Nessie. "Is it because I'm not a member of one of the Tribes? Your Imprint with me is different then, isn't it?" She was desperately trying to hold back the tears building up in her eyes. "You don't feel that way about me?" Her face crumbled in agony as soon as she asked and she looked devastated. Damn-it! I hurt my Imprints feelings. I could not bear to see her so sad and upset. I needed to fix this and quickly. Just not in the way she wanted. I hoped she would understand.

"No honey that's not it. Nessie, you know I love you." She stopped crying. Okay, good start. "But you're too young . . . physically."

"But I thought . . ." she began.

What, what did she think?

" . . . since I finally started menstruating . . ." she continued, running her finger up my arm.

Oh no!

" . . . that was the sign that you have been waiting for. You said you were waiting for me, so we could be together." I grabbed her hand, as it made its way back down, but didn't release it this time.

I hadn't been waiting for a sign. If anything I would love nothing better than if her growth would slow down even more than it had, so she could enjoy her childhood longer.

I thought back. Where was she getting this? What was she talking about? Of course - the talk about Embry and Imprinting . . . and Sam's theory.

"Nessie, we are together. And when the time is right we can be together . . . _in that way_ . . . if you want to. Just not yet."

Wait, how long had she been thinking like this? I didn't feel that way yet about her. I always assumed that if she ever started having feelings for me, (albeit I always thought I had a few more years to wait) but I thought I would start having the same feelings for her back. Wasn't that how Imprinting worked? Maybe Nessie was right, our Imprinting was different. What if we were not supposed to end up together? No, I don't want to think like that. Anyway it was her decision and I could be happy with whatever she picked.

"Nessie, honey, I don't think either of us are really ready yet. You still have a lot of growing to do, physically. Getting your period was just the _beginning_ of a whole bunch of changes you are about to go through. I know you have read Carlisle's medical books, and I'm sure Bella has talked to you about this so I know you know what I'm talking about."

She looked shocked by what I said. "Jacob, is that what is wrong. I didn't think you were so superficial." She yanked her hand out of my grasp.

What? She lost me. What did I say?

"Just because my breasts have not developed . . ."

"NO, Nessie," I practically shouted, "that's not it." I cut her off right there. And took a deep breath. Calm down, getting worked up is not going to help. "Well it's not that, exactly." Oh, this was awkward.

I needed to take more deep breaths.

"Renesmee, although your mind has been equal with an adults for awhile now, you still look like a young girl. It's very hard for me to get my mind around that. I don't want to upset you. And you know I love you. I don't want to hurt you though. It's just . . . when I look at you I get very confused sometimes. I don't have a crazy, advanced Vampire mind like you. Yes, you mostly act thirty, but look fourteen, and have only been alive for less than three years. It's incredibly confusing for my slow human brain." I tried smiling to help diffuse some of the tension.

"So that is what is really bothering you, Jacob? That I still look like a little girl? Because I don't act like one, I don't feel like one, and I certainly don't think like one."

"I know, on some level that you are mentally more adult than child, but I can't ignore what my eyes see when I look at you, I am SO sorry Nessie. Can't you wait, even a few more years? Please, just a few, you can catch up physically and I can catch up mentally." I was pleading now, great. "That's not so long, when you think about it, when we have forever together, right?"

"You're right, Jacob. Of course I can wait." She sighed with a weak smile on her face. I could tell she was going along with me, but was still disappointed. She scampered over to the other side of the couch, pulled her feet up to scrunch into a ball, and did something I had seen her do in over a year - hit behind her hair so I couldn't see her face. I wanted to go over to her, hold her and tell her everything would be alright, but I could feel that she didn't want that. She had put only four feet of cushions between us, yet it felt like miles.

After twenty minutes of silence I couldn't take it anymore. "Nessie, please don't be mad at me." I hated making my Imprint upset, but this was one time I just couldn't give her what she wanted. Not yet anyway.

"I just . . . I'll be fine."

"Nessie?" The pain was unbearable, and I couldn't figure out if it was hers or mine. Probably both. "Please talk to me."

"Is it alright if . . ." she peaked out of her hair and looked around the room, but not at anything in particular. "I mean I won't . . ." Her eyes landed on me and then went down to her hands. "Can I sit next to you?"

Instead of answering, I got up and went over to her, closing the gap to just a couple of inches. Normally I would have put her on my lap, but I think that wasn't a good idea anymore. This was close enough.

We decided to finish watching _Blade II_ and then call it a night. The entire movie Nessie kept reassuring me that she understood my need for more time, but how was this not going to be awkward? We slept in the same bed. Could we really go back to that comfortable ignorant bliss when just sitting next to each other on the couch was an issue?

I got my answer fairly quickly. When the movie finished Nessie grabbed my hand, leading me to our bedroom. She climbed in, practically dragging me along with her and nestled herself by my side like she always did. Within minutes I heard her breathing change and knew she was asleep.

I'm not sure if I actually slept myself. My mind kept replaying the night's events. Would things really be okay between us?

I hoped so.

* * *

**A.N.** \- Yikes! What will Bella and Edward think when they get back from hunting?

Just one chapter left in Book One of the Orbiting Satellites Series.

Please add my to your favorites Authors list or Follow me so you will know when I start publishing Orbiting Satellites - Book 2. It shouldn't be too long till i start posting, but parts of it are my favorites in the whole series and I would hate for you to miss it.

Thanks for reading.


	24. Repercussions

**The Blood Moon**

* * *

**Year Three, Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Repercussions**

* * *

Jacob's Point of View

* * *

As the sun rose the morning after the . . . um . . . _movie incident,_ I knew Nessie was still asleep, but I had spent almost the entire night replaying, in my head, our time together, over the past few weeks. Had I missed some sign that she was feeling differently about me? About us? I couldn't think of anything, but there must have been a sign, somewhere.

After racking my brain and coming up empty I would switch back to thinking about everything that happened last night; her tickling me, touching me, kissing me. No. No. No.

Then I heard what I had been dreading. The front door opened, the family rushed in, and the door . . . _slammed_ closed. Oh, CRAP! They're back. I should have been more careful. Edward might have heard my thoughts. But who was I kidding? It was inevitable that he would find out. A second later Edward and Bella were at our bedroom door. Double Crap!

Edward glared at me, (not a good look) then gestured with his head to follow him. He definitely knew.

As I disentangle myself from Nessie, careful not to wake her, I tried to pep myself up. I did nothing wrong. Everything was perfectly innocent, well on my part, anyway. A growl came from the hallway. Okay, I needed to brace myself for the worst. Edward was probably not going to try and _actually_ kill me, but I should prepare myself for anything, at least to defend myself. What did he hear me thinking about exactly? It wasn't that bad was it?

I ended up following Bella and Edward into Carlisle's office. That made sense. His office was far away from all of the main rooms of the house and everyone's bedrooms. With the extra soundproofing no one would hear us talk, scream, fight . . . or whatever they planned to do to me.

"Relax Jacob, I am not going to kill you, . . . yet. I wouldn't want to break any of Carlisle's things," Edward smirked.

"We can go outside if you're scared," I shot back.

It was strange that he was smiling and making jokes right now. I know he must have been upset seeing what went on last night, but was he a least trying to have a sense of humor about it?

"Okay, both of you, who wants to tell me what's going on?" Bella grunted, well as much as her new sugary sweet Vampire voice could, I guess.

Edward didn't answer her, instead glared at me. I guess his good mood was over. Maybe I was wrong and he wasn't hinting at a smile before. Probably not.

That's fine. It would be better coming from me anyway. "Last night -"

"It seems our little Renesmee believes she is all grown up." Edward cut me off.

"What?" Bella started inching closer to me. Her hands were pressed tightly into fists. Oh no, not good. "She is a child! What did you do?" She was fuming. Fighting Edward was one thing but I had no desire to get into a fight with her.

"Nothing! Nothing happened, Bella. You know me, you trust me, right? I would never do anything -" I start backing away, but Carlisle's office wasn't that big, and I soon found myself pressed up against the wall. This felt like I was right back at the house in Forks, right after Nessie was born, and Bella first learned I Imprinted on her daughter. She had that same deadly look in her eyes.

"Why should we believe you, Jacob?" at least Edward wasn't screaming like Bella did. "The sole reason you Imprinted on Renesmee was so that someday you would . . . MATE with her." Although I knew it wasn't possible, it looked like Edward was trying not to vomit at even the idea.

_That is not the only reason. _

"So you admit it," he growled, which caused Bella to go into her hunting crouch. Crap, she was getting ready to pounce. What was he trying to do, get his wife to kill me? He knew what really happened. He could see the truth in my mind.

"I know nothing. Your thoughts could be lying to me."

"Are you kidding me? She's just a child, just like Bella said," I replied, gesturing to my best friend, or so I thought. "Come on Edward, I really don't need this crap from you right now." I'm confused and freaked out enough as it is. "If it was true we wouldn't be talking right now. We would be outside trying to kill each other because I wouldn't have had said no, I wouldn't have had the reaction that I did. And you know it."

But I couldn't deny Edward completely. Someday it could . . . probably, if all went well . . . might happen . . . someday. When she was older. I hoped.

Edward growled again.

"What is wrong with that? I love her and she clearly loves me. Why shouldn't we . . . when she's old enough, that is. It's not dirty, or won't be then, like you seem to think."

What was wrong with him? He's had sex. Much to my disgust, I hear him and Bella all the time. They were doing it like bunnies. Did he really want his daughter to stay a virgin forever? How miserable did he want us... her to be?

_If that's really how you feel why'd you marry Bella? You could've gone on for forever just being her friend, if you think sex is so wrong. She told me about your sick deal, about how you refused to change her, or sleep with her, until she married you. You blackmailed her into marriage. How wrong is that? Hypocrite! _

Edward was seething. Great, that probably wasn't the best thing to have thought at the current moment. He wasn't saying anything, just glaring at me. That and slowly destroying one of Carlisle's books. So much for my thinking his master plan was to come in here to limit the damage.

My eyes darted back and forth, between the two of them, looking for any hints that either was about to attack. It was looking like I was going to have to fight and (if I was being honest with myself) it being two against one, probably die, for something I didn't even do.

Bella looked like she was really about to lose it. Since she didn't have her newborn strength anymore, maybe I could walk away from this with only a few broken bones. But if I did live I would need to figure out how I was still going to see Nessie. I had a feeling that they would try and stop me from seeing my Soulmate. That wasn't going to happen though, I wouldn't let it. I couldn't live without her. And I needed to stay close to make sure she was safe. After last night I doubted I would even be allowed in the house again. Edward shook his head, letting me know I was right.

Crap! Crap! Crap!

Another growl escaped Bella's throat, as she saw him, misinterpreting our silent communication. Quicker than I could react she grabbed me by my shoulder and shoved me into the wall. Pain shot down my arm, but I don't think anything broke. The wall wasn't so lucky. Damn she was strong.

Instinctively my Wolf wanted to fight back, defend myself. I pushed back slightly, but managed to control myself and not phase. I wasn't as strong in this form, but didn't want to phase and hurt her. Bella on the other hand, easily grabbed my upper arms and shoved me back into the wall, restraining me in place.

Alright, I needed to focus. Eddie knows everything I'm thinking so I can't surprise him. Maybe if I just go on instinct, and not think too much, if I can just slip out of Bella's hold, then catch him off guard, I just need to make sure I keep Bella between the two of us. He wouldn't want to attack me with his wife in the way. What's that Kung Fu style of using your opponent's strength against them? Maybe if I throw her into him . . . Wait I can't do that! Bella's my best friend, I don't want to hurt her. And me hurting, or killing, Nessie's parents would devastate her. I can't do that to my Imprint either. I didn't see any way around it, I was just going to have to let them attack and hope they don't kill me. But if they do . . .

_Just tell Nessie that I loved her. Make sure you keep her spirits up. She likes it when . . . _

My last thoughts, for Edward to pass along, were interrupted by a crunching sound followed by pain shooting through my body as Bella's hand tightened, snapping the bone in my left arm.

"Aaaah!" I screamed.

"It's alright, Bella. He didn't do anything." Edward finally confirmed, rolling his eyes at me.

_You couldn't have mentioned that before she broke my arm? _

"You'll be fine," he replied, sounding bored, but probably just trying to hid his anger.

_Wait, does this mean . . . I don't have to . . . go? I can stay?_

Edward just gave me the slightest hint of a nod, before Bella spoke again.

"You're ONE HUNDRED percent sure?" she questioned Edward, missing the exchange between the two of us. I could understand her doubts in me though, I had been less that . . . _gentlemanly_ with her, in the past.

"I didn't do anything," I screamed again, only partially because of the pain.

Edward confirmed my account, but I could hear another, slight growl coming from him. That was my fault again. I wasn't having the best morning. Thinking of my past with Bella never made him too . . . happy.

"So what did happen then?" She still seemed angry, but not at me, exactly.

Now believing me, Edward gave her a replay of the nights events that he saw in my mind, as he grabbed some medical supplies the Doc had on hand and wrapped up my arm after he reset it. It would be healed in a few hours.

"I'm sorry Jake," Bella apologized as he worked. "It's just Renesmee's my daughter and I . . . just . . ." she struggled to explain but I completely understood.

"Don't worry about it Bells. I would react the same way if I thought someone had done something to Nessie too. Except I probably wouldn't have handled it so well," I admitted. It was the truth, after all.

"So now what?" she asked.

"I don't know. What am I going to do? I am not ready for this, I can't . . . I thought I had more time-" I started rambling, more relaxed now that the immediate danger to my life was over. Sinking into one of Carlisle's chairs, I literally start banging my head on his desk. This was not good. I naturally feel compelled to give Nessie what she wants. I'm going to turn into some sort of pedophile. It was a miracle last night didn't . . .

"Don't be so hard on yourself Jacob. You did nothing wrong." Edward was actually trying to make me feel better now?

"Sure, sure. So any bright ideas on what I'm going to do?"

"Renesmee is very intelligent. You explained to her why you could not have THAT type of relationship with her right now. Perhaps that was all that was needed." Edward answered.

"Don't beat yourself up over this. It'll work out. You two will be together, when the time is right." Bella was also trying to make me feel better, even though I could still see the revulsion on her face. She was trying to hide it, but she never could. True she was a lot better at hiding her emotions, now that she was a Vampire, but I was still her best friend. She couldn't fool me.

"Can you tell me what was she's been dreaming about this morning?" I asked Edward. I didn't really like invading her privacy like this, but this was one time I thought it would be helpful to know, so I could be better prepared to deal with things in the future.

His face fell. "Since we have returned she's been replaying differing versions of the night. One version is the same one that I read in your thoughts, and I _assume_ is what really happened, where you tell her that she is too young. And another . . . where you . . . don't." He cringed when he said that. He didn't elaborate on it but his face told me enough. I guess it would be weird as a parent actually watching their child fantasize about . . . err . . . things.

"Great," was all I could reply.

"There is something else Jacob."

_Do I want to hear this?_

"I think you will. She was also dreaming about what you said last night. About how you needed to grow mentally and she needed to grow physically. It seems that that was the one thing you could have said to get her to stop her _plans_, for now. She understood where you were coming from, because she is constantly having to wait to grow physically, herself, to be able to accomplish certain things. And if you need time to grow mentally, then she feels that it is the least she can do to give it to you."

"That is a relief," I sighed.

"Jacob, I agree with some of that, but I also think she needs to grow more physically AND mentally. While she believes she is mature enough to handle . . . _things_, I do not. I am worried about what is going to happen between the two of you, because of the Imprint. There is no way to tell how soon your feelings towards her are going to change, now that hers have."

"Jake, maybe it's time you move into your own room, for a little while. Like, for the next few years, or so." Was Bella kidding me?

_No way, not going to happen,_ I mentally seethed.

"It is, unless you want to sleep outside from now on." Edward growled back at me. Damn, I guess I would have to play nice on this one. They were her parents, and it was their house. Getting angry was not going to help my case right now.

Edward smirked as he heard me. "Glad you agree because Bella's right, Jacob. This might be for the best until things . . . settle down between the two of you."

"What about her nightmares?"

"I have been watching and I don't believe they are that bad anymore. If something happens, Bella or I can try calming her down. If that doesn't work, you will still be nearby . . . as a last resort."

"Please don't split us up. Don't take me away from her. You can't." I didn't mean to, but a slight snarl escaped at the end. That was not going to help. I needed to calm down and talk rationally.

I took some deep breaths before starting again. "I can't live without her, you know that." Why were they doing this to me. I did the right thing, I said NO, even though it hurt me to disappoint her and make her sad in any way. Why were they trying to punish us?

"We're not trying to punish you Jacob. You will still see her during the day. It's just at night, but you will be close by. Your rooms are right next to each other."

"I know, it's just not the same." I turned to look at Bella now. "You know what I am talking about. How would you have liked it if someone told you that you couldn't sleep next to Edward when you were still human."

"This is different Jake, I was older."

"And we have been together since she was a toddler."

"Yes but you know things have changed, she is growing up. She changed the dynamic between the two of you last night."

"Oh come on, first she's too young, now she's too old, which one is it?"

"That's just the thing Jake; she's in those impressionable and confusing middle years." Bella began.

"We are her parents, it's our job to protect her." Edward continued.

"I WOULD NEVER -" I screamed. How dare he insinuate something like that.

"From _herself_, Jake. We need to protect her from herself," Bella sighed, attempting to calm me down.

"Jacob, you're like a son to me." Yeah right! "This is as much for your benefit as it is hers. I don't want you to be forced into anymore awkward situations either. You should not have to deal with that. Bella and I really should have put a stop to the two of you sleeping in the same bed together over a year ago." Edward informed me. "I had been listening to both of your thoughts, sporadically, waiting for any sign that this might happen, but heard nothing to indicate something like this, from either of you."

What? He had been listening for this? Already? She's only two, or fourteen. Well, sort of thirty, mentally, like she said, I guess. I'm so confused.

"I am sorry, she caught me completely off guard." Edward continued.

I couldn't hear anymore. I just turned and left. I would leave it to them to break it to Nessie. Edward would hear me thinking this and know to talk to her, himself. I just couldn't. If he wanted it to be like this he would have to do it himself. I couldn't hurt her like that. She would be upset. I know it. Probably not as much as me, though. That was my one consolation. But I would be there for her. I could still tuck her into her bed every night, kiss her forehead and then go to _my_ room. Ha, I've never actually slept there.

I don't know, maybe Bella and Edward were right.

But it was only temporary. I hoped. Yes, it would only be temporary. I just started chanting that over and over in my head.

* * *

As expected Nessie did not take the news of our sleeping apart too well when Bella and Edward told her soon after she woke up.

She tried reasoning with them for hours, but when they wouldn't budge, broke down and cried for over an hour and later that night when I tucked her in and tried to get up to leave she would not let go of my now healed arm. Eventually Bella had to come in. She ended up crawling into bed beside Nessie and stayed with her until she fell asleep. At least my angel did not wake up screaming from one of her nightmares.

I spent the entire night in _my_ room just staring at the door that separated mine from Nessie's, my former room, where my heart still was. I couldn't sleep. Would I ever be able to again? Probably, eventually, but not very well, not until I was back where I belonged.

The weeks dragged on, we were both like walking zombies, in the beginning. After asking me if I would mind, which of course I didn't, Bella passed on to Nessie the Dream Catcher I had given to her for her 18th birthday a few years prior.

Bella said exactly what I would have, had I been allowed in Nessie's room anymore, they didn't want a repeat of that first night apart. "Jake gave me this, back when I was human and having a hard time. It's supposed to chase away bad dreams. He gave it to me, and now I'm giving it to you." I was actually shocked I hadn't thought of it myself, I might have, had I not been so sleep deprived. It didn't work, but slowly . . . eventually, as the weeks passed, things started to get better.

Nessie and I started spending more and more time together in the daytime. Previously I had been with Rose a few hours every day, working on cars in the garage, but now I either took Nessie with me or didn't go at all.

After a couple of months, Nessie seemed to adjust to sleeping without me. And as she started to feel better, so did I. I guess that was due to the Imprint. Whatever, as long as that meant she was happy, or at least less depressed. I was happy to see that her nightmares hadn't returned, at least. I guess all she needed was time.

She also, thankfully, made no further attempts to _advance_ our relationship. I was worried she was only humoring me and temporarily dropping the issue. Maybe she was planning on waiting until neither Edward or I were expecting anything and dropped our guard, (not that I was on guard around Nessie), and then pounce, but she seemed to have genuinely dropped the _subject_, for now at least. She said she would wait until I was ready, and it seemed she meant it.

She did however stop holding my hand like she use to, whenever we would walk anywhere. And instead of my lap she now would sit next to me. They were little things and through our Imprint bond I knew what it meant. It was her way of giving me the time (and her the space) for her to grow up as I requested. Limiting our physical contact so she would not be tempted.

* * *

After everything that's been going on between us for the past couple of months I thought Nessie and I needed a little innocent fun, and just my luck a traveling carnival had been set up on the outskirts of town. Well not the town we were living in, but one a few towns over. It was perfect.

"Come on Jake, we're going to be late," Nessie screeched. She had practically leapt out of the car and ran to the carnival entrance. I loved seeing her so happy, the entire car ride here she couldn't sit still, bouncing in her seat like an actual two year old . . . sort of. Maybe ten. Definitely not like the fifteen year old girl she looked like. Okay if I was being completely honest with myself I guess I was pretty excited about today too. I guess she was acting her age whether it was two or fifteen or thirty, because sometimes everyone acts like a kid no matter how old they were.

And I could see why Nessie was so excited. She had never been to anything like this before. Well, there had never been anything, around us, like this before. Carnivals, this one, or one just like it, would pass through some of the bigger towns in Washington every few years, but this was the first one that had come through since Nessie had been born.

"All right, wait up, I'm coming," I called as I locked the Rabbit and jogged over to her.

"Jacob let's go in the hall of mirrors first." Nessie started to run in that direction but I quickly grabbed her hand.

"Wait just a second, I think we need to buy tickets first for the attractions." She stopped, but then looked down at my hand that still held hers, before I dropped it. "Um, I think the ticket booth is over here," I said, gesturing awkwardly to her right.

We had been waiting in the ticket line, for not more than five minutes when I heard a little kids voice calling Nessie's name. Looking in that direction I saw the little girl, followed close behind by a woman whom I assumed was her mother.

"Nessie? Nessie?" I heard the girl call again. She looked so excited as she ran over to us.

Nessie touched my arm and used her gift to show me that same little girl playing with her at the park. The girl looked around three years old, just a bit younger than she looked today. She might be four at the most, now. But Nessie looked like she was barely seven years old back then. Now, only a year later, she appeared about eight years older.

"What do you want to do?" I was starting to get uneasy. This would definitely be a huge problem. It wasn't just the little girl I was worried about, it was the mother. Nessie had showed me her in the memory as well. It was from back when Esme thought Nessie needed lessons on how to act more human, so she took her to some park during the day while everyone else was at school, and had her play with other little kids. I don't know why she thought it was necessary. Nessie was half-human and a natural. She didn't need lessons to act human. But I never said anything back then. It meant Nessie could get out of the house, and she enjoyed that. I knew she didn't like being cooped up at the house all the time. But now it was coming back to bite us, I knew it was too good to be true, having her go out of the house, in public, while she was growing so fast. It was just asking for trouble.

_Just act natural, Jacob._ _I've got this. _She smiled at me. She must have seen the concern on my face.

"Nessie, I . . . wow, you're so big!" the girl exclaimed, wide eyed, when she finally made it over to us.

"Oh, hi there honey. I'm sorry but I think you have me confused with my little sister, Vanessa. She's eight years old." Nessie was going to pretend to be her own older sister? It might work.

"I'm sorry my daughter is bothering you." The woman was about to drag her away when she got a good look at Nessie. "Oh, you do look just like your sister."

"Well we are related, so I would hope we looked somewhat similar. What is your name, sweetie?" Nessie asked the little girl. I knew Nessie was trying to take attention off of herself and redirect it to her, but that seemed a bit dangerous. We should just get out of here as quickly as possible, before any more people start recognizing her. What would we do if someone else saw her from another point, like six months ago, when Nessie looked like a 12 year old. This could get a lot worse. And I don't think they would believe one family had three incredibly beautiful sisters who all eerily resembled each other.

"Oh," she seemed confused at first, then I guess decided to believe Nessie. "I'm Emma. How come your sister doesn't play with me at the park anymore?" She looked really sad that her friend was gone.

"So you're Emma," Nessie smiled at her. "My sister talks about you all the time. I remember she told me that you were the bravest girl on the swings. She said that you would swing so high and jump off from the very top, and were never scared. Is that true?"

Emma didn't seem to notice that she never answered her question, she was just so happy that Nessie called her brave.

Nessie was getting more and more involved in her conversation with Emma. We need to get out of here, but I couldn't exactly try to get her attention by calling her Nessie. What could I use? Sweetheart, sweetie, honey, angel? They were all innocent nicknames to us, but could be misconstrued to a total stranger, and what with our physical age difference this could get problematic, for me anyway. With her looking 15, and me around 25 physically, even if I was only 19 in reality, us being here together, even as platonically as it was, to an outside observer it could be misconstrued into a big legal no-no. I went with the most platonic option I could think of, even though I had never used it before. Hopefully she would realize I was talking to her. "Um . . . Ren, it's getting late, we need to go."

"Oh, my gosh, Jacob, you're right." She caught on right away, lifting my arm and quickly glancing at the non-existent watch on my wrist. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was so late." She turned back to the little girl, "It was nice meeting you Emma, I'll tell Nessie you said Hi," she added before we briskly walked away, not giving her or her mother a chance to say anything.

Seconds later we were back in the car. Wanted to get her out of here as quickly as possible, I threw the car into drive and sped us out of the parking lot.

How could Esme have been so careless with Nessie this past year? No matter how far away they traveled, she still exposed Nessie to so many people over and over again. I was pissed.

When I spotted an empty parking lot a few miles away I pulled in and turned off the car. I couldn't drive like this. I needed to calm down.

A slight growl escaped my lips, but I quickly cut it off when I saw Nessie cringe. The last thing I wanted was to scare her. No that was not true. The _very_ last thing I would want would be to lose control, phase and hurt her. It would kill me if I ever made that mistake.

Taking a few deep breaths I thought things over.

Okay, I knew I was being too hard on Esme, she only wanted what was best for Nessie. I just could not understand how she didn't see that something like this was bound to happen, revealing Nessie's rapid growth to humans. It was a constant battle I had myself, between keeping her safe and making her happy. They weren't always compatible.

I know Nessie wanted a normal life and to get out of the house from time to time, but as today proved it was just too dangerous. This was my fault too. I should not have brought her here and definitely should have objected when I first found out about Esme's little field trips, but they had made Nessie so happy. Unfortunately if this happened once, it probably would happen again.

"I'm sorry, Jacob." What? What was she apologizing for? "I know you were really looking forward to the carnival. I didn't mean to ruin it for you."

"Nessie you didn't ruin anything for me and this wasn't your fault." I tried to assure her.

"Of course it is. If I hadn't made Grandma Esme take me out of the house I never would have met Emma prior to today. If I had not been recognized we could have stayed. I know you were really looking forward to the carnival," she said from behind her hair.

"Nessie I only wanted to come here today so that you could have some fun. It's why Esme would take you to the park. You deserve to have fun."

She noticeably relaxed. "So you're not angry at me?" She peaked out through a gap in her curls.

"Why would you think I would be angry at you?" I had never been, not once in her entire, very short life.

Her eyes widened. "Because you growled at me."

"Oh, no sweetheart. I wasn't upset at you, I was growling because we had to leave, that _you_ wouldn't get to have any fun." That was the truth . . . partially. I wasn't even angry at Esme anymore and didn't want Nessie to know I thought that, if even only briefly. I just needed someone to blame, at that moment, for ruining my plan to cheer Nessie up. "I'm sorry our day is ruined. I really wanted to be able to take you somewhere fun."

"We could go do something else," she suggested, the smile weakly returning to her face.

"I don't think we should risk going anywhere else where we might run into more people who could recognize you. I think we need to go home. But how about another music lesson?" With Nessie's help I was getting better, not much but some. And I know she enjoyed teaching me. Yet I hated having to say _No_ to her, but the risk of exposure was too great.

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed, but I could hear the sadness in her voice. "Ooooor," she drew out the word, and erupted into a hug smile. "Instead of going home how about we go hunt?"

"Nessie we just went hunting yesterday. You can't be hungry already." Even though she had amazing control I hadn't wanted to take any chances with all of the humans that would be at the carnival.

"I know, I just thought it would be something fun we could do together, outside of the house. In the forest we're probably not going to run into any little kids I met at the park."

Of course, I should have thought of that. Now I felt even worse. "Sure we can go for a run if you want, but I don't think we should needlessly kill more animals." She couldn't still be thirsty. "It isn't necessary right?" She shook her head. "Good, then how about playing hide and seek or freeze tag. What do you think?"

Nessie looked a little shocked I would suggest those games but she agreed. At least she can have a little bit of fun today.

"We're going to have to go home and switch cars first though. The Rabbit is never going to make it up to Canada," I told her as I restarted the car and headed to the highway back to the Cullens place. She didn't think we would run into anyone in the woods but I didn't want to take any chances.

Things would be better soon. We were moving to New Hampshire. It works be good to get Nessie away from all this mess. She would be able to go outside more and be able to interact with other people. As her growth slowed even more she wouldn't need to be kept away and hidden from the world.

As happy as that thought made me, I hadn't forgotten that I was going further away from my father, sister and Pack. But moving would be good for me too. I was going to be going to college.

And while Nessie's and my relationship had begun to change, and was now awkward at times, who knows what the future would bring, but I was optimistic. It would work out in the end, for the two of us, I just knew it.

This was going to be the beginning of a brand new adventure.

* * *

**A.N. -** Okay that's the end of Orbiting Satellites - Book 1. Please be on the lookout for Orbiting Satellites - Book 2. I should start posting it in a week or two. (maybe sooner)

Please review. And thank you so much for reading.


	25. Authors Note

**Orbiting Satellites – Book Two, Chapter one has just been published. You can find it here:**

s/13292759/1/Orbiting-Satellites-Book-Two


	26. Authors Note 2

Authors Note:

Chapter One of Orbiting Satellites – Book Three has just been posted. You can find it here –

s/13464478/1/Orbiting-Satellites-Book-Three

Also The Jaguar Versus the Wolf has now been marked complete. It tells the story of Nahuel and Renesmee in Book Two through Nahuel's point of view –

s/13432489/1/The-Jaguar-Versus-the-Wolf


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